More Than There Are Stars In The Night Sky
by Autumn Autrice
Summary: Haruno Sakura, a homeless teenager in the city of Konoha, would gather a couple bucks from singing. Good at her talent, she is found by local rich boy Uchiha Sasuke, who offers her a contract through a music company, who happens to be friends with his dad
1. Chapter I

**(Long)Author's Note: NOBODY PANIC! **

**This story went through...a bit plastic surgery...****YEAH RIGHT! **

**Hey guys, it's Autumn Autrice. I know, I know, it's been a while :/ I apologize. And the last time I wrote something for this was... well, let's face it. A long time ago. And my writing has improved (greatly) since then and I reread what I've posted and to be frank, I'm amazed on how many people liked it cause I thought it was _shit_. I even messed up in the story line BIG TIME. I was like "0_O" the whole time I read it. So I've focused the past couple months and reconstructing everything (but keeping the skeleton-the story line- just about the same) hence why I said it went through 'plastic surgery'. So this is the NEW Chapter I. **

**I'll have another author's note at the bottom of this chapter just cause I know you want to get reading. :)**

* * *

Haruno Sakura walked down the streets of Konoha City on a warm summer day. Her shoulder length pink hair partially covered her face. It was her safety blanket. Her guard. It kept any weirdo away from her. Why? Well… who would want to mess with a freak with bright pink hair?

Sakura adjusted her only, yet special, bag. She was very protective of it. It held her entire world. Her notebooks, her pens and her very few articles of clothing. That was all she really needed to survive. And she was happy, nonetheless. It didn't matter that she had no family, no friends, no _home_. She was happy… most of the time.

If there was one thing that made Sakura happy _all the time, _it was singing. Sakura loved to sing. It was her talent and it was how she would gather a couple bucks off the street.

Today she headed over to Main Street. There she would sing her latest song and hold her precious bag wide open for donations. But of course, the strap of her bag would be wrapped around her leg, so no one could attempt a "fast one".

"_And here we go again__  
__With all the things we said__  
__And not a minute spent__  
__to think that we'd regret__  
__So we just take it back__  
__these words__  
__And hold our breath__  
__Forget__  
__the things we sworn we meant_

_I'll write you just to let you know__  
__That I'm alright__  
__Can't say I'm sad to see you go__  
__Cause I'm not__  
__well I'm not_

_And here we go again__  
__with all the things we did__  
__And now I'm wondering__  
__just who I would have been__  
__To be the one attached__  
__at all times to your hip__  
__Forget__  
__the things we sworn we meant_

_I'll write you just to let you know__  
__That I'm alright__  
__Can't say I'm sad to see you go__  
__Cause I'm not__  
__well I'm not"_

As Sakura sang, an audience began to gather and money was bound to start coming in. Coins and sometimes dollars would end up in her bag. But regardless of the money, Sakura was doing what she loved best.

_"I'll write you to let you know__  
__That I'm alright__  
__Can't say I'm sad to see you go__  
__Cause I'm not__  
__well I'm not__  
__I'm not__  
__Are not_

_And here we go again__  
__With all the things we said__  
__And not a minute spent__  
__to think that we'd regret__  
__So we just take it back__"_

A round of applause began at the end of the song. Sakura smiled and bowed. She then took her bah and made her way to the nearest subway station. As she walked, she began to think. How much longer can she sing? How much longer can she depend on her talent to get her an _okay_ meal? Sakura wasn't stupid. She knew her ability to sing was pure talent and how she got that talent was pure _luck_. So how long can she depend on it?

"_as long as it works"_ she told herself. … but how long would that be? Sakura sighed and began to count her money. "…$5.69… that's not too bad. I can raid the dollar menu with this…"

The pinkette got off the subway at the next stop and made her way to one of the worst, yet successful, franchise in the world. McDonalds.

...

...

...

The line was HUGE! No way would she get food anytime soon.

"Better yet," she said to herself. "I'll just find a different place…"

And with that said, Sakura walked about a mile until she found a suitable little coffee shop.

"Hello! Welcome to the Yamanaka Coffee Shop! My name is Ino and I will be your server today. Are you ready to order?" Sakura smiled and nodded, knowing _exactly_ what to order. This place was famous for it.

"Yes I will have two strawberry Danishes and a glass of water."

"Oh! Good choice! Okay I'll be right back in five minutes." Ino replied. And sure enough, five minutes later, Ino returned with the two Danishes and water. "Here you are, miss. And here is your bill."

Sakura looked at the bill and pulled out 4 dollars. "Keep the change." Ino nodded, took the money, and left.

The pink haired teenager sighed as her mouth watered. She hadn't eaten in about two days. Just as she was going to take her first bite, a commotion stopped her.

"GET OUT OF HERE! THERE IS NO FREE MEALS ALLOWED! LEAVE!"

To Sakura's left, a boy stood defensively in front of what looked like his twin sister. They were both dirty, like herself, and they both wore raggedy clothing, once again like herself.

"Look! We just want one Danish! It won't kill you!" the boy yelled.

"One Danish! It's always one Danish! Listen if I gave every rat like you ONE DANISH, I'd go out of business! Now get out!"

"What kind of man are you?"

"One that has a family to care for!"

"But! - " "Ryuu."

The boy turned to his sister. She whispered something to him and in an instant the boy relaxed and they made their way out of the coffee shop. Sakura quickly got up and followed them.

"Hey you two!" she called out. The boy and girl stopped walking and looked at her.

"What?" Ryuu rudely replied. Sakura walked up to them and handed each of them her Danishes.

"Here" she said with a kind smile. The boy and girls eyes widened.

"B-but those are yours!" the girl said. Sakura shrugged.

"I already had one." she lied. The boy and girl hesitated but took them. Sakura could tell that they were hungry. They DEVOURED those things.

"What are your names?" Sakura asked as all three of them walked.

"I am Haruka, and this is my twin brother Ryuu." Sakura nodded.

"I'm Sakura." she kindly replied. The three of them walked and soon found themselves at Konoha Central Park.

"So. Where are your parents?" asked Sakura. Ryuu and Haruka looked at each other then at Sakura.

"They died." Haruka mumbled.

"Oh...Sorry." Haruka then questioned Sakura.

"So why did you give us your only Danishes? I know you were lying about already having one. You had just got to the coffee shop when Ryuu started to make a commotion." Sakura raised her eyebrow. "No one can lie to me." Haruka said cheerfully.

"Yeah, she too damn observant." Ryuu replied.

"Well," Sakura said. "Let's just say, we are kind of in the same boat. Except I never met my family. I was born on the streets, and have been here ever since." Ryuu and Haruka's eyes widened.

"Wow. You have it worse than us..." Ryuu said. Sakura smiled. They think she has it worse, but really, in her opinion, they did. Their parents had died. They had their loved ones _taken away_. Whereas she had been alone since day 1. And she _still_ has no one. These guys have each other, at least.

"I'm happy. Most of the time anyways,"

"How do you get money?" Ryuu randomly asked. Sakura, who was starting to zone out from all the thinking, snapped back to reality.

"Oh. I sing." she said simply.

"Huh?" they both replied. Sakura smiled.

"I sing. I basically just write a song, and then sing it out in the open with my bag open. I usually get up to four dollars and sometimes five if it's a good song." Ryuu and Haruka nodded.

"So...where do you stay?" asked Haruka.

"Here. At Konoha Central Park." Said Sakura.

"Oh." said Haruka.

"Do you guys wanna stay with me? If you don't it's cool. But seeing on how we are on the same boat..." Sakura suggested. Haruka had happiness in her eyes within milliseconds.

"Really?" she exclaimed. Sakura smiled and nodded.

"Cool! Ryuu, we're going to stay with Sakura!" Ryuu nodded. Sakura began to wonder why he didn't talk much, but it didn't bother her. He'd come around when he's ready.

"C'mon let's go. I stay over in the round blue tunnel." said Sakura. Haruka nodded, and followed Sakura, as did Ryuu.

...

...

The next day Sakura woke up bright and early. She emerged from the blue tunnel and stretched and yawned, then looked over to the two kids that were staying with her. They were both still sleeping. Sakura pulled out a small notebook and a pen she had in her bag. It was full of her songs. She flipped through it and notices she only had a bit of paper left. She sighed. "I only have enough paper for maybe one and a half songs...damn." Sakura began to think and dribble. Soon, before she even knew it, Ryuu woke up.

He crawled from the tunnel and stretched. "What are you doing?" he asked as he walked up to Sakura.

"Writing a song...can't sing the same things over and over again. People would get bored." she said with a smile. Ryuu nodded and sat next to her.

"Is your hair naturally pink?" Sakura laughed.

"Is your hair naturally brown?"

"Yes."

"Ditto."

Insert awkward silence for Ryuu…

"so…are you going to sing today?" he asked. Sakura nodded, focusing on the paper in front of her.

"I have to. We need to get a meal in us somehow." Ryuu nodded once again.

"I know where you can sing that's got loads of people." He said. Sakura looked up quickly.

"Where?" she asked desperately.

"Over by the Cinema down Peach Street. A lot of people see movies nowadays." said a different voice. Sakura looked up and saw Haruka walking towards her and Ryuu.

"Well then. Let's get going!" Sakura exclaimed. Haruka and Ryuu nodded with a smile. They all went off several seconds later.

About a half of an hour later Sakura, Haruka and Ryuu were all at the Cinema down Peach Street. "Ok, let's go where there are a lot of people." Sakura told her two new friends. Ryuu and Haruka looked around.

"There!" they exclaimed. There were many adults and children near a fountain. Sakura smiled and patted the two on the shoulder.

"Nice spot." she said. They walked over towards the fountain and Sakura put down her bag with the strap on her leg."Ok. Ryuu, Haruka, you two can sit on the fountain, while I sing. If you have any idea's to get us more money, then go for it." The two twelve year olds nodded. Sakura smiled and then took a deep breath.

"_I don't mean to run,__  
__But every time you come around I feel,__  
__More alive, than ever__  
__And I guess it's too much,__  
__Maybe we're too young,__  
__And I don't even know what's real,__  
__But I know I've never wanted anything so bad,__  
__I've never wanted anyone so bad,_

_If I let you love me,__  
__Be the one adored,__  
__Would you go all the way?__  
__Be the one I'm looking for?__  
__If I let you love me, __  
__Be the one adored, __  
__Would you go all the way? __  
__Be the one I'm looking for?_

_Help me come back down,__  
__From high above the clouds,__  
__You know I'm suffocating,__  
__But I blame this town,__  
__Why do I deny,__  
__The things that burn inside,__  
__Down deep I'm barely breathing,__  
__But you just see a smile,__  
__And I don't wanna let this go,__  
__Really, I just want to know_

_If I let you love me,__  
__Be the one adored,__  
__Would you go all the way?__  
__Be the one I'm looking for?__  
__If I let you love me, __  
__Be the one adored, __  
__Would you go all the way?__  
__Be the one I'm looking for?"__  
_

Sakura sang, and before she knew it, a guy sat next to her on the floor. He had an acoustic guitar and he didn't look much older than herself. The boy pointed to his guitar, motioning a question. Sakura nodded and then the guy played a tune in the same scale Sakura was singing to. It went perfect and it caused butterflies to flutter in her stomach. This was her first complete song.

_"If I let you love me,__  
__Be the one adored,__  
__Would you go all the way?__  
__Be the one I'm looking for?_

_If I let you love me,__  
__Be the one adored,__  
__Would you go all the way?__  
__Be the one I'm looking for?__  
__If I let you love me, __  
__Be the one adored, __  
__Would you go all the way? __  
__Be the one I'm looking for?"_

Sakura stopped singing and smiled to the helpful teenager. People had been dropping money in her bag like crazy.

"Thank you very much." she said kindly. The guy nodded.

"It was my pleasure. You're really good." The guy looked at his watch. "Uh oh. I gotta go! Bye!" He then took off and another man approached. He looked no older than Sakura as well.

"You have talent." He said bluntly. Sakura blushed.

"Uh thanks." She said as she picked up her bag. "C'mon guys let's go." She said over to Ryuu and Haruka. Both of them jumped off the fountain to join Sakura.

"I can help you, you know." Sakura looked at the guy.

"How is that?" She said.

"I can get you a contract. Sure many singers are good, but you. Your voice is different. You'll make it big." He said. Sakura raised her eyebrow.

"How can you get me a contract? You look no older than me." She said densely. The guy smirked.

"You don't know who I am, do you?"

"It appears so." Sakura retorted. Who did this guy think he was? Haruka tugged on Sakura's sleeve.

"That's Uchiha Sasuke. His father is in charge of the Uchiha Industry. They are friends with every other big company. People who aren't their friends kill to be their friends." Sakura then took a second look at 'Sasuke'.

"I can help you. I have been told that sponsors have been looking for something new." Sakura bit her lip. This was her chance. She can change her life right here and now. But was this guy serious? …she doesn't even know him.

"Well?" Sasuke asked. Crap crap crap! Yes, no? Yes, no?

"I…guess…but only if these two can come with me." Sasuke nodded. He pulled out his cell phone, and made a quick phone call.

"Ok. We have a scheduled meeting for tomorrow at three pm." he said. Sakura was shocked.

"It's all set up? J-just like that?" Sasuke nodded.

"Come. You can stick around at my place." he said. Sakura, Haruka and Ryuu followed Sasuke into a nearby limo.

20 minutes of heaven in the limo had passed and they arrived at Sasuke's HUGE house. They entered in through the door laughing and having a great time.

"You're so funny!" Sasuke exclaimed."I'm serious you-" Immediately Sasuke stopped talking. His face went serious. Sakura looked to what he was staring at.

"What the hell?" Ryuu yelled. In front of everyone was another Uchiha Sasuke. The one in front looked beyond pissed and the one next to Sakura looked like he was going to poo himself.

"Ah ha. Sasuke! I thought you went to the amusement park with your girlfriend!" said the Sasuke next to Sakura.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing...Sai!" Sakura, Ryuu and Haruka who were confused as heck, looked at the two Sasuke's.

"Now, now cousin. I was only doing a bit of role playing! There was no harm done!" Apparently the Sasuke in front of Sakura wasn't Uchiha Sasuke, but one of his cousins.

"Sai! Go change now!" Sasuke yelled. Sai slumped and turned to Sakura.

"You lied to me?" asked a now pissed off Sakura.

"No!" yelled Sai. "I never SAID I was Uchiha Sasuke. You guys made that assumption on your own." Sakura glared at the man in front of her. Oh she was going to kick some ass now!

"You bastard!" She was going to punch him but someone had caught her hand. The real Uchiha Sasuke.

Sai left leaving the real Uchiha Sasuke, Sakura, Haruka, and Ryuu in the room.

"Sorry, if he caused you any trouble." Sasuke monotonously said. Haruka, out of the blue, started to laugh.

"How can you laugh at a time like this? What's so funny?" Ryuu asked.

"Sai! I remember reading about him! He is Sasuke's cousin! He always picks up girls saying he-" Haruka then stopped laughing...Her face looked saddened.

"He always picks up girls saying he would get them a contract of some sort." She then looked to Sakura. "I'm sorry, Sakura." she said. Sakura didn't look sad, but mad.

"What did he promise you?" Sasuke asked. Sakura looked at Sasuke. He didn't even smile.

"Huh?" she replied. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"What did he promise you? The type of contract?" Sakura then realized what he was talking about.

"Oh! Well he told me that his fath- well actually YOUR father had friends looking for someone new to sponsor." Sasuke nodded.

"What do you do?" he asked. Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"I sing...why?" Sasuke started to walk away.

"Are you any good?" he asked.

"Heck yeah!" the twins replied for her.

"Follow me." Sasuke ordered. Sakura and the two kids obeyed. They walked through the big house and soon walked in a room.

"Is this a private studio?" Ryuu asked as he looked around the room.

"Hn." Sasuke replied. "Get inside." he said to Sakura. She obeyed. This guy didn't sound too happy.

"Ok just put on those headphones and I'll tell you when to sing into that speaker in front of you." Sakura put on the headphones and waited for Sasuke. "Ok, go." Sakura once again took a deep breath before she started to sing.

"_Close your eyes and make believe this is where you want to be__  
__Forgetting all the memories, try to forget love cause love's forgotten me__  
__Well hey, hey baby, it's never too late pretty soon you won't remember a thing__  
__And I'll be distant, the stars reminiscing__  
__Your heart's been wasted on me_

_You've never been so used as I'm using you, abusing you__  
__My little decoy__  
__Don't look so blue, you should've seen right through__  
__I'm using you, my little decoy__  
__My little decoy_

_Live your life inside a dream__  
__Time is changing everything__  
__Forgetting all the memories__  
__And I'm forced into you just cause you're into me__  
__Well hey, hey baby, it's never too late__  
__When I'm gone you won't remember a thing__  
__But I can't stay and you know I won't wait__  
__I was gone from the very first day_

_You've never been so used as I'm using you, abusing you__  
__My little decoy__  
__Don't look so blue, you should've seen right through__  
__I'm using you, my little decoy_

_Oh, oh.__  
__I'm not sorry at all__  
__(not sorry at all, not sorry. no.)__  
__I won't be sorry at all__  
__(not sorry at all, not sorry. no.)__  
__I'd do it over again_

_Don't look so blue, my little decoy__  
__You should've seen right through, my little decoy__  
__You've never been so used, my little decoy__  
__And so I'm using you, my little decoy"_

Sakura stopped singing and looked up to the Uchiha. He showed no emotion, but Haruka and Ryuu on the other and looked happy-go-lucky. Was she really that good?

"Did you write this song?" asked the Uchiha.

"I write all my songs." The pinkette replied sternly. Sasuke nodded.

"Come out." he commanded. Sakura obeyed and slowly exited the studio.

"You were great Sakura!" exclaimed Haruka. Sakura smiled. She then looked up at Sasuke.

"Soooo" she said rather weirdly. Sasuke apparently was on his phone.

"_When the heck did he get on that?"_ Sakura thought.

"Hn. Yeah. Yes. No. Perfect." he had said. Sasuke hung up his cell phone and looked to Sakura.

"Tomorrow at noon you have a meeting with Kunoichi Music Co. They sponsor talented female singers." Sakura blushed. THE Uchiha Sasuke just called Sakura talented...well sort of. Sasuke walked out of the room but waited at the door. "Well are you coming?" he rudely asked. Sakura once happy was now ticked off. _"Would it kill this guy to be a 'little' nice?"_

Sakura, Haruka, and Ryuu followed Sasuke to a different room. Once inside he found a girl with short dark blue hair. She had pale eyes and a light complexion.

"Hinata." Sasuke called. The girl looked up from whatever she was doing.

"Yes?" she asked politely.

"Take these three to the District. They need some new clothes." he said. Hinata looked stunned but nodded a second later.

"Right." she replied. Sasuke turned to Sakura.

"This is my cousin Hinata. She will be taking you three to the District so you can get some new clothes for tomorrow." Sakura nodded.

"Th-thank you." She said. Sasuke nodded and left the room.

"I think he likes you." Haruka whispered. Sakura shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah." She replied sarcastically. "He _really_ likes me."

"I would have to agree." Hinata said as she was coming from a walk in closet. "He doesn't really talk to girls. Most of the ones after him are fan-girls, which he hates. I guess he doesn't take you as a fan-girl, which is good." Haruka smiled and Ryuu didn't seem to be paying attention. Sakura shrugged.

"Eh, he's not me type." she simply said. Hinata smiled

"If you insist." She then grabbed her purse and had everyone leave the room.

...

...

...

Hinata, Ryuu, Haruka, and Sakura were all in a limo heading over to the District. One of the biggest and most expensive shopping streets in Konoha.

"Ok, first we'll head off to my parents store. They always have good clothes." Hinata told them. Sakura, who barely noticed where they were, began to panic.

"Uh. This place is really expensive!" she nervously exclaimed.

"Oh no worry!" Hinata replied. "Sasuke would never let you spend anything!" she added happily. Sakura felt really uncomfortable. She was not used to charity.

"Uh. B-but-" As Sakura was about to say something Hinata's cell phone rang.

"Excuse me." She said. "Ah! Yes, we just got here… No we're going to head to Hyuuga Co. first… Mhm. Yes… Oh yeah, I don't think she's quite used to that… Yes… Yup… Ok, see you when we're home." Hinata hung up the phone. "Sasuke wanted to know how you were doing" she informed Sakura. "It also seems Sai wants to apologize." she added. Sakura nodded to acknowledge it but that doesn't mean she accepts it. The brat had lied to her… and not just a small white lie. A big humungo lie…

...

...

...

It was about 4:30 pm. everyone had been shopping for HOURS. Ryuu and Haruka were beyond happy, while Sakura was still becoming accustomed to the kindness displayed by Hinata and Sasuke. Sure, she was kind to others but when she receives it a bit too much, it makes her become a bit uncomfortable.

"I think it's about time to leave. We've been out for a while. We can eat when we get home." Everybody was once again at the Uchiha's HUGE house. As they entered the door a maid came forth.

"Excuse me Miss Sakura, Miss Haruka, Your rooms is ready. I will take you there, while Kay takes Mr. Ryuu to his room." Then the maid took the bags Sakura and Haruka were holding, while the waiter took Ryuu's bags. The all looked at each other. Confused.

"Well you can't expect my son to let you three go back out in the streets." said a soft kind voice from behind. Sakura turned around as did Ryuu and Haruka, to see a beautiful lady who looked like she was in her early thirties.

"Uhm. Hello" Sakura said, slightly embarrassed. The lady smiled warmly.

"Hello. I am Uchiha Mikoto, Sasuke's mother." Sakura nodded.

"It's nice to meet you" she replied. Mikoto smiled.

"My husband, Uchiha Fugaku, is not here right now, but you can meet him either later today, or some other time." she said. Sakura smiled and bowed.

"Thank you very much."

Sakura was shown to her room. It was big, although the maid claims that she was given one of the small rooms. But Sakura didn't care. It was HUGE. And it was all hers…

Sakura put down her red and blue bag, and flopped down on the bed. It was king sized, and soft. She stared at the ceiling. Was this really happening? Or was she just dreaming? She was currently in the house of a wealthy family with Ryuu and Haruka...yet she didn't know why. Why were they so helpful? It didn't make sense. How the freakin' heck was she becoming so lucky? Luck was usually never on her side, aside from her singing... Maybe someone was watching over her...stuck on this thought, Sakura fell asleep moments later.

* * *

**Chapter Songs:**

**_HERE WE GO AGAIN_**

**_ADORE_**

**_DECOY_**

* * *

**Now for the (longer) author's note...**

**Let's talk about updates, shall we? :)**

**I'll be updating this as often as I can, but I must tell you, I'm a very busy person. Right now, I have updated about... eight out of eighteen chapters. I took a break from chapter nine so I can post this. I'll post the edited chapters up ASAP (like, before Monday possibly - it's currently Friday). **

**Now time to talk about the changes:**

**the story line has been tweaked with a bit but it's overall the same thing. The chapters are much longer. There is more detail. blah blah blah. haha. **

**PLEASE NOTE: You WILL have to read the new chapters or you WILL get confused.**

**SONGS!**

**Okay so, one major thing that I changed was that this fanfic is now PURELY a Paramore/Naruto fanfic. It's going to have NOTHING but Paramore songs. Including old songs, new songs, songs that were never on albums and etc. My goal is to get every Paramore song in this story. Why? I don't know. This story line screams Paramore at me and yeah. haha. **

**Okay, so that's it for now. I'll be posting up Chapter II - Chapter VIII sometimes soon. Bye for now! :)**


	2. Chapter II

Sakura opened her eyes to find the room she was in pitch black. She was in a set of new pajamas that were made of black silk. _"When did I change into these?"_ she asked herself. Pinky climbed out of the king sized bed and stretched. She then saw a digital clock; it had said 4:26 am.

"Wow." She told herself. It was early. VERY early. What time had she fallen asleep? Did she eat dinner? Her stomach grumbled. Obviously not. _"I guess it won't hurt to go get a slice of toast."_ she thought to herself. Sakura left the room and walked down stairs. She found the kitchen five minutes later. _"This house is bigger than I thought."_

Looking through the fridge, she grabbed a piece of bread and some milk. She stood at the counter eating and savoring every bite of the bread. "Mmmm." she let out.

"You missed dinner last night." said a voice to the left. Sakura turned to see a man a little older than her. He looked a bit like Hinata but had long hair tied back in a very low ponytail.

"Sorry." Sakura replied before jumping up to bow.

"What is your name?" the man emotionlessly asked.

"Haruno Sakura." she replied. The guy nodded.

"My name is Hyuuga Neji. I am Sasuke's cousin, and Hinata's older brother." Sakura nodded.

"Nice to meet you." she said cheerfully. "Soooo why are you up so early?" she asked. Neji went to the fridge and fetched a water bottle. He shrugged. Sakura took the last bite of her bread and last drink of her milk.

"Well. Good night-well er morning." she said after she placed her glass in the sink and bowed.

Sakura went back to her bed and realized that her bag was nowhere to be seen. Sakura panicked. Where was her stuff! She looked around the room and sighed in relief. Her bag was on a chair by the computer she had just noticed. She looked through it. Once again she began to panic; where the hell was her notebook?

"Holy crap." she said lowly to herself. "Where is it?" she said a bit louder. A tear ran down Sakura's face. Her notebook was nowhere to be seen. How can it be gone?

"Something wrong?" asked a voice she remembered instantly. She turned around to see Uchiha Sasuke. Sakura took a deep breath and held her arms together.

"I can't find my notebook." she said with a sad tone. It almost sounded like she was going to cry. Sasuke walked around Sakura to the nightstand next to her bed. He picked something up and held it in front of her face. Sakura was going to slap herself. The notebook had been next to her the whole time. She took it and held it close to her.

"Thanks" she said shamefully. But why was it not in her bag? She didn't take it out…

Sasuke grunted in response.

"Go to sleep." He said. Sakura stood there with an eyebrow raised.

"Why are you awake?" she asked. Sasuke walked towards the door across the room.

"You woke me up." he said before walking out.

Sakura blushed and sat on her bed. She held her notebook close to her. Sakura never wanted to lose this notebook. It was special. Why? Because it filled with the songs she put her heart into. The notebook was her diary. It was something she would never _ever_ throw away. That would be the death of her…

...

...

...

It was seven a.m. when Sakura awoke (again). She grabbed a brand new pair of jeans, that were bought for her on the all day shopping trip to the District, a new shirt that was black with hot pink stripes, and her brand new pair of converse. She then ran into her bathroom that came with the room to take a nice hot shower. As Sakura showered, Haruka and Ryuu were already up, showered, and eating breakfast. They were both really happy.

"Haruka, Ryuu, would you two like to hang out with me, my little sister, and my friends at the amusement park later?" Hinata asked as she sat at the table with her plate of food.

"You have a little sister?" asked Ryuu. Hinata nodded. On cue, a girl with long brown hair and pale eyes walked in the dining room. She looked rather serious. But then again, all the Hyuugas did.

"Ryuu, Haruka, this is my sister Hanabi" Haruka waved and Ryuu didn't do anything he just stared. Hanabi smiled. It was a smile of a thousands angels…

"Hello." she said kindly.

"Hi! I'm Haruka, this is my brother Ryuu." said Haruka. Hanabi smiled again, and then looked at Ryuu. He was so quiet and still.

"Is your brother ok?" asked Hanabi. Haruka looked at her brother and waved her hand in his face.

"Ryuu? Hello anyone there?" Ryuu then snapped out of his gaze.

"Huh? What?" Hanabi giggled then looked to her sister. "I can't go to the amusement park today. Sorry. I have to go to Konohamaru's house. He is bugging me about Moegi, apparently he _finally_ wants to ask her out." Hinata smiled.

"It's ok. Do you think you can take Haruka and Ryuu, I'm sure they would want to meet some kids their age." Hanabi nodded.

"Can you guys be ready in 5 minutes?" she asked looking at Haruka, due to Ryuu being stuck in a daze again. Haruka nodded and watched Hanabi leave the room. She then looked at her brother who was looking down at his plate, blushing. Haruka smiled, and started laughing. Ryuu looked up at her knowing exactly why the sudden outburst. Hinata smiled and shook her head returning to her food.

"Shut up Haruka." said Ryuu standing up. Haruka tried to stop laughing but couldn't.

"Sorry, but it was funny! That was a Kodak moment! Your face!" She continued to laugh. Ryuu blushed again.

"Haruka!"

Hinata giggled.

"Be nice Haruka." she said nicely. Haruka calmed down seconds later. She smiled, picked up her plate and then went to the kitchen. Hinata looked at Ryuu.

"She's pretty, isn't she?" she said to him. Ryuu without paying attention replied.

"Yeah."

"Are you two ready?" Hanabi asked as Haruka re-entered the dining room.

"Yup!" she replied. Hanabi smiled.

"Let's go"

Sakura, now clean and changed in a new set of clothes, walked out of her room, downstairs, and into the main room. There she saw Haruka, Ryuu and another girl.

"Good Morning!" she said cheerfully.

"Sakura!" Haruka exclaimed.

"Hello." said Hanabi. Sakura smiled.

"Hello. What's your name?" she asked kindly.

"My name is Hanabi. I am Hinata's younger sister. I hope you don't mind I steal these two and take them to meet some of my close friends." Sakura shook her head.

"Not at all, you can steal them anytime." Ryuu smiled widely

"Let's go!" he said enthusiastically. Hanabi, Ryuu and Haruka all walked out the house, leaving Sakura alone in the room. She then walked in the dining room, spotting Hinata sitting at the table reading a magazine.

"Good morning." Sakura said happily. Hinata looked up and smiled.

"Good morning...I like that shirt. I'm glad you chose it." she replied. Sakura smiled.

"Yeah. Uhm have you seen Sasuke this morning? I have some questions about later today." Hinata shrugged. "I haven't seen him all morning. Did you check his room?" Sakura shook her head.

"No...uhm where is his room?" Hinata giggled.

"It's the last door on the left side of the wall on the second floor." Sakura nodded. "Thank you." she then left the dining room, heading for the stairs. All of the sudden she heard something.

"_That sounded like a splash?" _Sakura followed the splashing water noises. Soon she was outside in the backyard staring at a huge pool. Someone was swimming in it. _"Who is that?"_ Sakura asked herself. She walked near the pool and saw dark hair. Suddenly the figure vanished. "What the-?" Within milliseconds someone floated to the top.

"Hello!" said the person.

"Uhm hi?" replied Sakura.

The person in the pool laughed.

"You don't know who I am, do you?" the man said. Sakura then glared. Oh yes she did.

"Oh now I know exactly who you are...Sai." The said boy smiled.

"Yup. So you wanna join me in the pool?" Sakura shook her head.

"No thanks." she replied. Sai smiled and quickly grabbed her hand.

"Aw c'mon! I don't bite!" Sakura tried to pull her hand away, but Sai had a tight grip.

"Let go please!" said Sakura. Sai shook his head. Slowly he started to go underwater.

"Sai, no!" yelled Sakura. Next thing you know Sakura was falling in the pool. Luckily someone caught her by the waist, and pulled her away. But Sakura didn't let go of her 'savior'. Only grip him tighter.

"You can let go of me." the person said. Sakura opened her tightly shut eyes and saw that she was holding a death grip to Sasuke. She let go, blushing, and turned to glare at Sai.

"Honestly." she simply said. Sasuke was glaring at Sai, while Sai was smiling at the two people in front of him.

"Sasuke-san. Must you ruin all the fun?" he asked. Sasuke glanced at Sakura, and then looked at Sai.

"She is my guest, as are you, but if it were up to me, you would be home in America right now." Sai smiled again.

"You're a fag." he said before dunking underwater. Sasuke clenched his hands into fists for about three seconds then released. He turned to Sakura, who was staring at the water. She then looked at Sasuke, who she barely noticed was looking at her.

"Uh, thanks" she said. Sasuke put his hands into his pockets and grunted in response. He started to walk away, but stop a couple of steps later.

"Hinata, said you were looking for me?" he said emotionless. Sakura walked up to him and they both started walking back into the house.

"I have a couple questions about later today." Sasuke nodded.

"Before you start asking, I have something to say" he replied. Sakura waited for him to talk. "The meeting was postponed. Apparently one of their current clients is having difficulties keeping to the contract. They're taking the client to court, but today they are talking to their lawyer, which is going to be for hours." Sakura looked disappointed but shrugged.

"Oh well...When is the meeting?" Sasuke smirked slightly as if he wanted to know how Sakura was going to react when he told her the date.

"In three months, if you're lucky"

Sakura nearly tripped and fell over her feet. Sasuke's slight smirk turned into a full smirk.

"You and your siblings will be staying here until you're able to get your own place AFTER the contract is made." he said. Sakura stopped walking completely.

"Why...why are you so generous?" she asked. Sasuke shrugged.

"Hn." he replied still walking.

"Well wait!" said Sakura as she ran after him. "That doesn't answer the question!" Sasuke shrugged again. Now in the living room, Hinata called out Sasuke's name. He looked at his cousin.

"Neji and I are going to the amusement park with everyone. Are you going to come?" Sasuke nodded, and then they both looked at Sakura.

"Would you like to come with us to the amusement park and meet our friends?" Hinata asked. Sakura smiled.

"Sure!" she exclaimed.

...

...

...

Hanabi, Ryuu, and Haruka were currently entering a rather big house.

"Hanabi!" exclaimed a woman who looked the same age as Sasuke's mother, maybe a bit younger. Hanabi waved

"Hello Miss! Is Konohamaru home? He told me to come over." The woman nodded.

"Yes, he is up stairs, shall I go get him?" Hanabi shook her head,

"No, that's ok. Oh before I forget. Miss, these are my friends. Ryuu and Haruka." Konohamaru's mother gave a wave.

"It's very nice to meet you." she said kindly. Haruka waved back while Ryuu did nothing. Miss then left the room, while all three twelve year olds walked up stairs. They entered a room that was the first door to the left.

"Konohamaru!" Hanabi called out. No one answered. Hanabi shrugged. "He must be in the bathroom. Anyways, make yourselves at home." she said. Haruka and Ryuu stood standing, staring through the room big eyed.

"Wow." Ryuu said. Haruka just looked in astonishment. Hanabi smiled as she sat on the small couch in the room.

"Yeah, he's got a lot of things. Usually you would think he's a spoiled brat, but he's not. He's really nice, for being the mayor's grandson." Haruka nearly fell.

"He's the mayor's grandson!" she asked rather loudly. Hanabi nodded.

"Yeah. His dad would be so to speak 'next in line' but he's off doing business in some place called Canada and has his own plans. So Konohamaru plans to take over for his grandfather once his time comes."

Suddenly, a boy with long brown spiky hair defying the laws of physics entered the room.

"Finally! Your here! Well c'mon hurry up, Moegi is going to be here any minute!" Hanabi sighed.

"Konohamaru, calm down. I don't see why I even had to come here. She LIKES YOU, a lot. Why do I need to help if she likes YOU for YOU." Konohamaru thought for a minute.

"Well, cause if I screw up-" Hanabi interrupted.

"You won't! Do I have to spell this out for you? She LIKES YOU for YOU. It doesn't matter if you screw up. She will still like you regardless." Konohamaru sighed in frustration.

"Fine." Then before you know it, someone called out Konohamaru's name.

"She's here!" Konohamaru whispered harshly. He then grabbed Hanabi's arm, along with Haruka's.

"Hide! Go in the bathroom!" he exclaimed. Ryuu, who wasn't paying attention, was apparently being pulled by the arm by Haruka. Now they were all in the bathroom, with the door slightly open.

"Hey Moegi." Konohamaru said in a nervous voice. A girl with orange hair that also defied the laws of physics walked in the room.

"Hello Konohamaru!" she exclaimed. Konohamaru blushed and put his hand behind his head.

"Heh heh yeah hi"

"You idiot say something other than 'hi'!" Hanabi said while peeking through the crack of the door. Haruka giggled and Ryuu smirked.

"Soooo, you want something to drink?" Konohamaru asked. Moegi shook her head.

"No thank you." she replied. Instantly there was a moment of silence. Awkward silence.

"Uhm, so you said you had something to tell me on the phone?" the orange haired girl asked. Konohamaru nodded.

"Yeah, I just need to figure out how to say it." As Konohamaru made small talk with Moegi, Hanabi was getting ready to kick something.

"He is so STUPID!" she whispered.

"Well it's not exactly easy for a guy to say out his feelings." replied Ryuu. Hanabi sighed and walked away from the door.

"Yeah I suppose." she replied. "But that's still beside the point. He knows she likes him, she knows he likes her, all that needs to happen is for something to be said! This is ridiculous!" Ryuu shrugged.

"Well I guess, that 'something' was already said. The two love birds are lip locking right now" Haruka said, looking out the door.

"What? I missed it?" Haruka nodded.

"Yup, it was cute." she replied. Hanabi groaned.

"Dammit!" she said. She then walked out of the bathroom followed by Haruka, and Ryuu.

"YOU SUCK!" she yelled. Instantly Konohamaru and Moegi pulled apart, each blushing. "I can't believe you made me miss it. With all your small talk! ARG! I wanted to see how you told her! AH! What the hell! I can't believ-" Hanabi was stoped by a hand being placed over her mouth.

"Quiet! Sheesh your loud when you're mad!" exclaimed Ryuu. Hanabi blushed and moved his hand out of the way.

"Sorry." she said. Then she looked back at the new couple. "Well can you at least tell her again, so I can see?"

Haruka and Ryuu both started to laugh. "What?" said Hanabi.

"Why did you want to see it so badly?" asked Haruka while laughing.

"Well probably because they have both liked each other for who knows how long, and I was the one stuck in the middle! Do you know how annoying that is?" Haruka and Ryuu continued to laugh, soon joined by Konohamaru and Moegi.

"What is so funny?" asked Hanabi who was getting annoyed.

"Hanabi, you need to calm down. Your making yourself sound ridiculous." said Moegi. Hanabi then took a deep breath.

"Fine."

...

...

...

Over across town, Sakura was being introduced to EVERYONE.

"So Sakura. This is my boyfriend Naruto, Neji's girlfriend Tenten, Kiba's fiance Mizuki. That's Kiba, then there is Shikamaru and his girlfriend Ino, and I think that's everyone." Sakura waved and smiled.

"Hello!" she exclaimed. As everyone said their hellos Ino started to ask questions.

"Have I met you before?" she asked Sakura. Sakura shrugged. She had no idea.

"You've probably seen me around. There are not many people with pink hair." she replied pointing to her hair.

"Have you been to my parent's coffee shop before?" asked Ino. Sakura shrugged again.

"Can't say I recall...Oooh wait I remember now! You were my waitress that day! And that was the day I met Ryuu and Haruka!" Ino then looked at Sakura.

"Yeah! I remember now!"

"Hey lets go on the rollercoaster!" Naruto yelled. Everyone agreed.

"Sure." Tenten said as she held hands with Neji.

As they all walked to a rollercoaster, Hinata tapped on Sakura's shoulder.

"Ryuu and Haruka aren't your siblings?" she asked. Sakura shook her head.

"Nope. We were all just in the same boat before we met you guys." Sakura replied. Hinata nodded.

"Well then. It's seems that I am not the only one who thought they were your siblings. Everyone else seemed to make that assumption as well"

...

...

"Sooooooo Sasuke? Do you like Sakura?" Naruto asked. Sasuke who was apparently watching Sakura laugh with Hinata, Ino, Tenten and Mizuki, didn't answer. He just grunted in response. Naruto laughed.

"I'll take that as a yes!" he said loudly. Suddenly all the girls looked to the guys.

"Take what as a yes Naruto?" asked Hinata.

"Oh, I took Sasuke's answer to the question I asked him as a yes." he replied.

"What was the question?" asked Ino.

"Oh just that is he li-mph" Naruto was interrupted be a hand being placed roughly over his mouth. The hand belonged to Shikamaru.

"He asked Sasuke if he likes...uh roller coasters!" said Kiba. All the girls raised their eyebrows.

"Ooook." said Mizuki. The line to the rollercoaster moved slowly but neither Sakura nor anyone else cared. They were all having fun talking, and laughing. Sakura wanted to cry deep down. She's never had friends…

"Yeah, but that's not the half of it! You should have seen Sasuke's face! It was priceless!" Naruto exclaimed as he told a laugh out loud story of how Sasuke was when he was younger. He didn't seem to notice that he was receiving death glared from Sasuke.

"Oh Sasuke!" someone yelled. Sasuke rolled his eyes but turned around.

"Oh great. It's Ami." Tenten said.

"Who?" Sakura replied.

"Ami. Sasuke's '_girlfriend_'" Ino added.

"What do you mean by that?"

"This chick has been after Sasuke for who knows how long. He doesn't like her, but she can't get the point. She just thinks Sasuke's playing hard to get. Just the other day, her tiny brain decided that they were officially together. Sasuke then had to go set things straight which he was not happy about." Sakura nodded.

"If I remember correctly, when I first met Sasuke, his cousin Sai said something about him going to the amusement park with his 'girlfriend'."

"Yeah, that was because he needed to 'break up'. She still doesn't get the point." Hinata said.

"Poor deprived confused girl. If only she had a brain..." Tenten said while shaking her head.

Sakura noticed that as she was being informed about Ami, Ami trying to steal Sasuke away from the group. And Sasuke was not liking it AT ALL.

"I'll be right back." she said to the girls. She then walked behind Sasuke and wrapped her arms around his waist. She rested the side of her face on his arm. Sasuke jumped slightly but just stood there. Sakura couldn't see his face. She tried not to laugh on the thought of his reaction.

"I'm sorry, can I help you?" asked Sakura nicely to Ami. As Ami stared at Sasuke and Sakura, Hinata, Tenten, Mizuki and Ino watched in awe. What had made Sakura do that?

Ami was taken back and fumbled on the words coming out of her mouth. Finally, she seemed to find her brain.

"I'm sorry Sasuke. I've got to go. I promised my friend I'd meet her somewhere." She then left the line looking mad. As soon as she was out of view, Sakura let go of Sasuke. He stared at her, as she smiled.

"Just thought you needed some help." she said kindly walking back over towards the girls. Sasuke still didn't say anything. He was shocked. Sakura was truly something. She wasn't all fan-girl, and she was kind, friendly, and talented.

"Dude. I think she likes you." Kiba said. Shikamaru and Neji nodded in agreement.

"And she doesn't seem to have problems helping someone. Even if it's just to get rid of someone." Sasuke nodded.

"Yeah." he said. He then looked at Sakura. She was talking to the girls as they questioned her about what she did.

...

"Why did you do it?"

"Weren't you embarrassed?"

"Do you like him?" Question after question came at Sakura. In response Sakura shrugged.

"I just did it to help him. That's ALL. There is nothing else to it. Sheesh, you're acting like I'm the only one who's ever done something like that." The girls just stared at her.

"You ARE the only one that's ever one that. I mean, we've all helped him, but not like THAT. I mean pretending to be his girlfriend, wow." Sakura blushed.

"I d-didn't mean it like THAT. I just did that to make her go away." Ino shrugged.

"Doesn't matter. I wouldn't be shocked if someone got a picture of that and put it in a magazine." Sakura gasped. She didn't mean anything like that to happen!

"Crap!" she let out. She glanced over at Sasuke."Do you think he's mad?" she asked.

"Who knows." Mizuki said. "Hardly anyone knows what goes on in that head of his." Sakura was now feeling bad. She probably ruined Sasuke's reputation. If he even had one.

"Does Sasuke have a 'reputation'?" she asked quoting her fingers at the word reputation. All the girls nodded.

"Yeah. He's been voted for Sexiest Male Teen since was like, 13. Uhmm he's in the Top 20 Richest. And there's bunches more. But he doesn't care. He never pays attention to that kind of stuff. The only way he'll take pictures for publicity is if his parent's tell him to." Sakura was somewhat relieved. At least he doesn't care about things that most rich celebrity people do.

"Next." said the man in charge of the rollercoaster. Finally after what seemed like an hour (Which was only 15 minutes) they were next. The seats were put in pairs. Shikamaru and Ino sat together, as did Neji and Tenten, Naruto and Hinata, Kiba and Mizuki. The only ones left were Sasuke and Sakura.

"Hurry up!" yelled Naruto. Sakura ran to the front seat of the rollercoaster, followed by Sasuke. The crew soon came and checked if everyone was buckled in right.

"Well, well. Looks like we got a little dare devil here." the man joked as he checked Sakura's seatbelt. Sakura smiled. "So you gonna hang on to his arm if you get scared?" He joked again. Sakura blushed but didn't look at Sasuke. The rollercoaster soon started.

Within 2 minutes the ride was over. Sakura had adrenaline pumping through her veins. She was up for anything. Everybody walked around the park looking for another ride.

"I'm so hyper!" exclaimed Sakura. "I feel like I'm up for anything!" she said punching her hand in the air. Naruto then joined her.

"Yeah!" Everybody laughed at Naruto and Sakura. They seemed to be the only ones hyper off of a rollercoaster.

...

...

"Sakura...are you SURE you want to go on this?" asked Hinata as Sakura walked up the stairs with Naruto to a bigger (much bigger) rollercoaster.

"Of course! I've never been on a rollercoaster 'till today! I wanna see what I like and what I don't like!" Sakura and Naruto were the only two walking up stairs to the big rollercoaster. Everybody else decided to sit back and watch. The rollercoaster had many warning signs. 'Do not go on ride, if you're not this tall.' 'If you have any back, heart, or any other serious problems, do not go on ride.' 'If you are pregnant or may be pregnant do not go on ride.' Sakura laughed to herself as she read the signs.

"Hey Naruto. What's the name of this rollercoaster?" Naruto took the line that leads to the front seat of the rollercoaster. Sakura followed.

"It's called X-celerator. It goes super fast and super high!" He said enthusiastically. Sakura nodded. The lines went by fast. But what line wouldn't if the ride was so fast it was exactly 53 seconds long.

As Naruto and Sakura were waiting for the line, everybody questioned Sakura as they waited.

"She'll chicken out. Naruto always go to the front seat to this ride. There's no way she'll do that." Ino said. Hinata shook her head.

"No, I don't think she'll chicken out." Finally after about 5 minutes Naruto and Sakura exited from the rollercoaster.

"That was awesome!" they both said.

"Y-you actually went in the front seat of the rollercoaster?" asked Ino.

"Actually, I offered to move to the middle after a couple people passed, but she still insisted on being on the front." said Naruto. Sakura started to laugh.

"I've never been on something like that. It was so fast. I loved it!"

Time passed and t was about eight pm when everyone started to call it quits. Sakura was TIRED beyond all reason but she was also happy beyond all reason.

"How about we head out to the movies for the last thing of the day?" Mizuki asked. She was holding on to Kiba's hand and arm.

"Sure." Shikamaru replied. Everybody agreed to rest for an hour and meet up at the Cinema down Peach Street. That was their 'theatre hang out', especially since Shikamaru's dad is in charge of it.

"So are we just gonna hang out at home for an hour?" Hinata asked. Sasuke shook her head. _"What is it with guys not talking much?"_ Sakura asked herself.

"We're gonna straight there." he said. Hinata, who was getting a piggy back ride from Naruto, made a confused face.

"Why?" she asked. Sasuke didn't say anything, just grunted in response.

The four teenagers were currently getting out of the Black Lexis that belonged to Sasuke. He had called that it be brought to them because he wasn't 'in the mood to take the limo'. Sakura was flabbergasted at the thought of not WANTING to take a limo. But then again, Sasuke was used to this life style…

At the cinema, Sakura noticed the amount of people. There was A LOT. And they were all in one area.

"What's going on?" she asked Hinata. Hinata shrugged

"I don't know." Sakura took a glance at Sasuke, he was talking-or more like whispering-to Naruto. She then walked up to the two talking.

"What's going on here?" she asked. Sasuke then looked at Naruto, who nodded.

"It's just a performance by the locals." Sakura smiled widely.

"Can we go see it?" she asked. Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand.

"Yeah let's go see it Teme!" Sakura was shocked by Naruto's language.

"N-naruto!"

"Oh relax Sakura-chan! We always call each other names!" replied the blond loud mouth.

"The dobe is right." Sasuke said while walking off.

All four people were now in the crowds watching a local band perform. They were called 'Rumore'. Sakura thought these guys were really good, but a chick singer would be perfect for them. After their song ended, they have two more planned.

"Ok! How's everybody out there!" the main guitarist said. The crowd cheered. "Well, we need someone from the audience to do us a favor. Sorry guys, but it's got to be a girl. A combination of cheers and boos was heard. How about you." the guy pointed to a girl who had light purple hair and brown eyes. The girl made her way up the small stage. "Do you know how to sing?" he asked her. She smiled, flipped her and nodded. "Ok, I need you to sing this song for us." The girl was happy go lucky. She laughed and grabbed the lyric that was held out to her. She was given a microphone. The band started to play and soon the girl started to sing.

"OH MY GOD! TAKE HER OFF THE STAGE!" an audience member yelled.

"BOO!"

"GET OFF THE STAGE!"

"STICK TO YOUR DAY JOB!" The song was not even thirty seconds in, and everyone wanted to make the singer get off. The 'singer' then waved her hand to the band to stop playing.

"Shut up people! You don't know a good voice if it-" The 'singer' was interrupted

"WELL SHOW US A GOOD VOICE WHEN YOU FIND ONE!" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto!" Hinata exclaimed.

"What? She SUCKED!" he replied. Within seconds the girl told the band to start playing again. They hesitated and looked towards the main guitarist.

"Play!" the girl yelled. The band reluctantly started from where they left off. What were they thinking? Sakura couldn't stand it. This girl needed to get off and NOW. This band was good. She didn't need to ruin it.

"You know what. You guys find a way to get that girl off stage, I'll be back." Sakura told Sasuke, Hinata and Naruto.

"Well wait where are you going?" Hinata asked. But it was too late Sakura had already left.

Sakura made her way to the stage.

"Thank goodness there is no security." she told herself. Sakura looked around and found what she was looking for. As Sakura did who knows what, Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke went to get the Cinema Security. They were successful, and found two. Over at the stage, Sakura had plugged in a separate microphone and unplugged the one the other chick was using. Sakura ran upstage with her microphone and saw that the girl was confused and mad that the mic was not working. She turned to the main guitarist, who shrugged. The girl got mad crumbled up the lyric and dropped it on the stage floor. She then walked off the stage. Sakura saw that the guitarist whirled his finger to keep going. Instantly Sakura ran on stage grabbed and crumbled the lyrics. She was still holding her mic and found the area they were at and looked to the guitarist. He was staring at her like she was insane. Sakura didn't care; she started to sing the remainder of the song, which was not that much. The crowd was practically gone when Sakura went on stage. Luckily a bit came back.

Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke were now returning to the rather small crowd with two securities. They all stopped in their tracks when they realized Sakura was on stage.

"Uhm. Sorry, but the insane chick left...thank goodness." Naruto said. The securities now looking miffed huffed and left. All three teens ran towards the stage. Sakura was currently talking to the genius who invited the no talent chick on stage.

"Just trust me!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Are you sure? This song is fairly difficult to sing! I can barely get the notes!" Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Just trust me!" she said again. The guy finally gave in and handed Sakura the lyrics.

"You better not screw us." He told her. Sakura gladly took the lyrics.

"Don't worry." she assured him with her smile. The band started to play, and slowly people started to come. It was Sakura's time to come in. She then started to sing.

_"I got a lot to say to you  
Yeah, I got a lot to say  
I noticed your eyes are always glued to me  
Keeping them here and it makes no sense at all_

_They taped over your mouth, scribbled out the truth with their lies  
Your little spies  
They taped over your mouth, scribbled out the truth with their lies  
Your little spies"_

It was barely the beginning of the song and Sakura noticed that a lot of people were in the crowd. Possibly more than before. Regardless, she focused on the lyrics she was sight reading.

_"Crush, crush, crush  
Crush, crush  
(1, 2, 3, 4)_

_Nothing compares to a quiet evening alone  
Just the one, two I was just counting on  
That never happens  
I guess I'm dreaming again  
Let's be more than' this_

_If you want to play it like a game  
Come on, come on let's play  
'Cause I'd rather waste my life pretending than have to forget you for one whole minute_

_They taped over your mouth, scribbled out the truth with their lies  
Your little spies  
They taped over your mouth, scribbled out the truth with their lies  
Your little spies_

_Crush, crush, crush  
Crush, crush_

_(1, 2, 3, 4)_

_Nothing compares to a quiet evening alone  
Just the one, two I was just counting on  
That never happens  
I guess I'm dreaming again  
Let's be more than' this now_

_Rock and roll baby, don't you know that we're all alone now  
I need something to sing about  
Rock and roll honey, don't you know, baby that we're all alone now  
I need something to sing about  
Rock and roll hey, don't you know, baby that we're all alone now  
Give me something to sing about_

_Nothing compares to a quiet evening alone  
Just the one, two I was just counting on  
That never happens  
I guess I'm dreaming again  
Let's be more than' no_

_Nothing compares to a quiet evening alone  
Just the one, two I was just counting on  
That never happens  
I guess I'm dreaming again  
Let's be more than'  
More than this_

_Ohh  
Hmm"_

The crowd erupted in cheers. Sakura then noticed that Hinata, Naruto and Sasuke were all in the crowd. Naruto was screaming his head off along with Hinata, but Sasuke was there with his hands in his pockets smirking. Sakura bowed and turned over to the band.

"You guys are really good!" she told them.

"Us? You're good! You just sight read the lyrics and it was AWESOME" the guitarist exclaimed.

"How would you like to join our band?" Sakura was shocked for a moment and smiled.

"That would be cool. But I would have to talk to someone about that." Her eyes drifted to Sasuke, who was still standing in the cheering crowd with Hinata and Naruto. The whole band looked a little disappointed. They really wanted her in their band.

"Hey T.K! Give the girl your number, so she can call if something comes up!" the drummer yelled. The main guitarist nodded.

"Yeah ok." He then wrote down a number and handed it to Sakura. "Call us." he told her. Sakura pocketed the number and nodded.

"I will, if I can." she said kindly.

Sakura met up with Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata minutes later.

"You were so cool!" Naruto yelled.

"Sakura, you have such talent!" Hinata said. Sakura smiled and shrugged.

"Someone had to do something. That girl was going to ruin such a good band" Naruto nodded in agreement.

"True that! The chick sucked!" Sakura laughed followed by Hinata. Sasuke on the other hand smirked.

"Well let's get going. It's gonna be nine in ten minutes." Hinata said while checking the time on her cell phone. Naruto then picked her up for a piggyback ride. As Sakura started to walk, she felt something on her shoulder. It was Sasuke's hand.

"You were really good." he whispered before leaving to catch up to Naruto and Hinata.

...

...

...

Sakura woke up fairly happy the next morning. Yesterday must have been one of the best days in her life. She stretched, showered, and changed. Today she was wearing black Dickies, her converse, and a dark red Vans T-shirt. She walked (or more like skipped) out of her room and down stairs.

"Hello!" she said cheerfully to Hinata, who was on her way out.

"Oh morning Sakura! Ryuu and Haruka went off to the amusement park with Hanabi, and her friends just ten minutes ago." she replied.

"The amusement park is open at seven in the morning?" she asked. Hinata shook her head.

"No they said something about getting breakfast and heading over to Konohamaru's house." Sakura nodded.

"You look like your heading out." she said. Hinata nodded.

"Yeah, poor Naruto got a cold, so I'm going over so take care of him!" Sakura smiled.

"Well then you go and take care of him." Hinata gave thumbs up and walked out.

"Morning Sakura!" yelled an overly enthusiastic Sai.

"Uhm hi. Sai." she replied. "You know there is something I've wanted to tell you!" he said with a smile. Sakura shrugged. Talking to Sai is something she didn't want to do. She was still miffed about his little stunt.

"What is it" she replied.

"You're UGULY." Sai said happily. Sakura felt her eye brow twitch, before she could say something back, he ran off.

"What a douche." she said quietly. She shook her head and went back up to her room. In her room, she pulled out the telephone number that was in her pants pocket from yesterday. She looked at it, and then set it down. _'To call them. Or not to call them.'_ she thought to herself. As Sakura thought of the possibilities, either way, she would hopefully end up with a record deal.

"Should I ask Sasuke, if he can change the meeting from just being me, to me and a band?" She asked herself. Sakura threw herself on her neatly made bed. Who knows what he would say. He can either say yes or no.

"Well I guess there is no hurt in asking." she said to herself. Sakura walked down stairs to find Sasuke, and no luck. 'Well I guess I'll explore for the time being.' She told herself.

Walking around the house she noticed that there was another pool.

"One inside and one out? Wow...Not to mention there is a freakin' huge slide." she said. After about half an hour to forty-five minutes, Sakura found an inside pool, a back living room known as a den, a couple more bed rooms, and room full of old pictures of Sasuke and an older boy. They looked like brothers. The room was rather dusty, it had a surfboard, it was broken in half Sakura noticed it had the Uchiha symbol on it. Sakura then looked on the dresser. It had several more pictures that were dusty. Was this Sasuke's brother? Where was he? How come she's never heard a word of him? These thoughts filled Sakura's head but she pushed them back. It wasn't her business. She shouldn't meddle in things that didn't concern her.

"I guess I can go for a swim" she said to herself, completely changing the subject. She ran up to her room and looked at the bikini Hinata had forced her to get just in case. She also got a pair of border shorts. Minutes later Sakura was changed into a black bikini with black and white border shorts. She grabbed a towel that was in her bathroom, and headed out the door.

"Oh! Hello Mrs. Uchiha." she said as she bumped Sasuke's mother. Sakura immediately bowed.

"Oh Sakura. Please call me Mikoto! And there is no need for formality!" Mikoto happily replied. Sakura smiled and nodded while walking outside to the pool. She threw her towel on the beach chair and walked in the pool.

"Mmmm this feels nice." she said to herself. She began to swim laps just for the heck of it. As Sakura swam, little did she know she was being watched.

From the balcony of the small library room, Sasuke watched Sakura swim back and forth.

"Sasuke." said a kind voice behind Sasuke.

"What is it, mother." he replied back.

"Why is it, when you are around this girl, you seem happy? And when she's not around, you isolate yourself from everyone?" Sasuke turned around to look at his mother. She looked concerned. But Sakura has only been around for 2-3 days. How can _anyone_ notice that?

Sasuke shrugged in response. "Do you like her?" Mikoto asked. Sasuke shrugged again. "Sasuke. I know you still blame youself for… Itachi's death… but it's been so long... and I want to see my baby boy happy again. If this girl, Haruno Sakura, makes you happy, unlike those other girls... When you're around her. I see the happiness in your eyes. Though you may not show it" Sasuke looked away from his mother. Was she right? Sasuke looked over to Sakura. She had just finished another lap, and for some odd reason they caught eye contact. She waved to him, having a very beautiful smile bestowed upon her very beautiful face.

"Mother." said Sasuke seriously.

"Yes Sasuke?" she replied. "How do you know if you love someone when you barely even know them?" he asked looking to her. Mikoto smiled.

"Don't worry. You'll know. Your heart will tell you." With that said, Mikoto left the room. Sasuke looked back at Sakura; she was now sitting on the side of the pool, resting.

"Sakura." Sasuke said to himself.

Sakura had just finished another lap. She was now tired.

"I wonder what time it is." she said to herself. She then got out of the pool. She dried herself off, and walked in the house. "11:30." she noted to herself, as she changed into what she was wearing when she awoke this morning. As Sakura walked back down stairs, she ran into Sasuke.

"Hello Sasuke." she said happily. He nodded in response. _"Would it kill you to say hi?"_ Sakura thought to herself.

"Where are you going?" he asked. Sakura thought about it. Where WAS she going?

"Uh." then out of the blue, her stomach growled. Sakura felt her face redden. "I guess to the kitchen!" she said embarrassed as she patted her stomach. Sasuke shook his head.

"No. Let's go out." he said or more like commanded. Sakura, stunned at first, nodded.

"Where?" Sasuke didn't reply and took Sakura by the hand out the door. Being gently pulled by the hand, Sakura felt a mad blush on her face. It soon left her face as Sasuke mounted a silver sports motorcycle. He put on his black helmet and lifted one towards Sakura.

"You gonna come?" he asked. Sakura hesitated. "Don't tell me you can perform in from of a crowd of people and not get on a motorcycle." he teased. With that said, Sakura frowned and took the helmet. She mounted the bike, and clung onto Sasuke.

"You better not be a maniac driving this." she said. Sasuke chuckled and turned on the bike.

"I will try to control myself." he said before zooming off. As Sasuke drove, Sakura clung onto him even more. He drove so fast. Sasuke noticed Sakura's clinging and slowed down.

"Thank goodness." she whispered. Within 10 minutes, Sasuke parked in a parking lot of a small Japanese restaurant. "Where are we?" Sakura asked.

"Tsunami. A very good sushi bar." Sasuke replied.

"Sushi?" said the confused pink haired girl.

"Raw fish." Sasuke said as he held the door open for Sakura. _"Raw fish...ew."_ thought Sakura. They entered in, got a table, and looked through the menu.

"Do you know what you want?" Sasuke asked. Sakura shook her head.

"I've never tried sushi. I don't know what to get" Sasuke nodded. The waiter came moments later.

"Are you ready to order?" the lady asked.

"One order of the sushi plate and two Pepsis." Sasuke replied. The waiter nodded, wrote down the order and left.

"So any reason in particular to why you chose this place?" Sakura asked. Sasuke shrugged.

"Just thought sushi sounded good." Sakura nodded.

"Can I ask you a question, and you have to promise to answer it." Sasuke shrugged.

"Sasuke." Sakura complained. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"What is it?" Sakura smiled. "Well, to start off, why are you so generous? I mean, you've done so much for Ryuu, Haruka and I. And yet you act like it's nothing...Why?" Sasuke shrugged.

"I'll tell you a different time." Sakura frowned.

"You just promised to answer." she added. Sasuke shook his head.

"I never promised. I only asked 'what is it?' I don't recall promising anything." Sakura folded her arms realizing defeat, in result Sasuke smirked. When the food came, Sakura hesitated to try it. Sasuke on the other hand ate a piece of raw orange fish.

"Aren't you going to try it?" Sakura looked at Sasuke and then at the food.

"Is it...good?" she asked. Sasuke didn't say anything but pulled up a piece of raw fish with his chopsticks, and put it near her mouth.

"Open." he commanded. Sakura, blushing, obeyed and opened.

"This is...good!" Sakura exclaimed as she swallowed. Sasuke nodded in response and continued to eat.

Time passed, conversations were held, and laughs were shared. Sakura soon learned many things about Sasuke. His favorite color, his favorite food, his favorite kind of music. She also noticed that they had much in common, yet much not in common. Dark blue was both their favorite colors. They both liked rock music, but Sakura also liked a tad bit of pop, r&b, and hip hop. Sasuke's favorite fruit was tomatoes, while hers was an orange. Sasuke's favorite food was spaghetti, as was hers.

"What school do you go to?" Sakura asked. Sasuke took a drink of his soda and answered

"I DID go to Konoha Beach High School, but I don't attend school anymore." Sakura's head jumped back.

"Why?" Sasuke smirked.

"Due to so much paparazzi when I was young, my mother had me home-schooled. By the time they laid off, I was about to attend the 8th grade. But after about the first semester was over, they realized I was advance. A little too advanced. So they had me continue classes at the high school, as an 8th grader" Sakura rose an eyebrow.

"Well that's kind of dumb, why didn't they just move you up a grade." Sasuke took another drink from his soda.

"Most likely because I wasn't a year ahead. In the 8th grade, I was taking 10th grade courses. Then when I was 'officially' in high school, they moved me up a grade. So I was bounced up to the 11th grade." Sakura's jaw dropped.

"You skipped the ninth and tenth grade?" she asked astonished. Sasuke shook his head. "I was in the tenth grade when I was in the 8th grade." he stated. Sakura rubbed her head.

"That's kind of confusing, but I think I get it." Sasuke smirked.

"What school did you go to?" he asked. Sakura slightly cringed. She didn't answer right away. "If you don't want to an-"

"I didn't go to school...I was somewhat 'home-schooled'. I basically learned everything from everyone that was LIKE me. Homeless would try to stick together. But after sometime, the people who taught me how to read, write, and the basics of math...died" Sasuke could hear the sadness in Sakura's voice. But she then gave a reassuring smile. "The good part about their passing was that they are now in a better place, no longer struggling in the world_." "She's been through so much more than me, yet she finds the good that comes out of it."_ Sasuke told himself.

Sakura looked around to find a nearby clock. No luck.

"What time is it?" she asked a waiter who came to pick up their plates. The waiter glanced at her watch.

"It is 1:15" Sakura nodded.

"We should get going." Sasuke said, grabbing her hand and walking out the door. They both mounted the motorcycle and put on their helmets.

"Can I ask you something else?" asked Sakura as she put on the helmet.

"Hn." replied Sasuke.

"You know the band 'Rumore'? The one that I sang with yesterday?" Sasuke nodded as he pressed the gas pedal and they zoomed off.

"Well, they've asked me to join their band! But I was wondering if it would be ok with you!" Sakura yelled over the noise from the motorcycle. Sasuke stopped at a red light, thinking of an answer.

"It's your choice, either way I will have Kunoichi listen." He said. Sakura didn't answer. She was shocked. Uchiha Sasuke was really something. He was so nice, and helpful.

...

...

...

"Hey Sasuke. Where's the ugly hag?" asked Sai, as Sasuke entered the door to his room.

"She's not ugly you baka. She's out with Hinata." said Sasuke rather coldly. Sakura had gone out when they came back from lunch. Hinata wanted to take Sakura for a girls day out with Tenten, Ino, and Mizuki. Sai laughed.

"Oooooh, looks like someone's gotta crush!" exclaimed Sai. In result Sasuke glared...but he didn't object. He just left the room. Sasuke entered his room, and went out to the balcony.

"Sakura..." he said a loud. So many thought about one girl were running through his head. _"Why..."_ he asked himself. _"Why? I hardly know you...but you make me feel so-"_ Sasuke's thoughts were interrupted when someone came barging in his room.

"Teme!" yelled out a blond loud mouth. Sasuke turned around and saw Naruto.

"Dobe...I thought you were sick." Naruto shrugged.

"I guess I recover fast!" Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"So Teme. Guess what I heard!" Sasuke shrugged. "There is going to be a Surfing Contest"

"No." Sasuke quickly replied. Naruto frowned.

"Aw c'mon! No one's hit the waves in sooo long!" Sasuke glared.

"I. Said. No." Naruto sat on Sasuke's bed.

"Sheesh." he said while lying down.

"Well, then! How about we go to a LAKE! That's so much different than a beach!" Naruto exclaimed. In result, Sasuke threw a book that was on a shelf at him.

"Go away Dobe." Naruto, who was rubbing his head at the sudden attack, shook his head.

"Not until you agree we can go to at least the lake. And if I have to spend the night in this room I will." Sasuke gave a death glare.

"Dobe." he said with aggravation in his voice. Suddenly Sasuke heard a car door close, and Sakura talking to Hinata.

As Sakura entered the house she heard someone greet her and Hinata.

"Ah Sakura! Hinata!" said Mikoto as Sakura and Hinata walked in the door.

"Hello Mrs. Uchiha!" replied Sakura. Mikoto pouted.

"Sakura, I thought I told you to call me Mikoto!" Sakura smiled.

"Right. Sorry, Mrs.-er Mikoto" Sakura then started to walk upstairs. As she walked to her room, she heard Naruto's voice. He seemed to be yelling in pain.

"What on earth?" Sakura said. She looked at Hinata who shrugged. They both walked towards the commotion. Sakura pushed open a door, to see Sasuke hold Naruto to the ground.

"OW! OW! OW! OK! I TAKE IT BACK! I TAKE IT BACK!" Sakura raised an eyebrow. While Hinata laughed.

"What did you do now Naruto?" asked Hinata. Sakura stood at the door way watching Naruto getting up off the floor.

"What happened?" she asked.

"My guess is that Naruto said something he wasn't suppose to say." replied Hinata.

"And what was that?" asked Sakura.

"OH! NOTHING! NOTHING WHAT SO EVER!" yelled Naruto. Sakura raised her eyebrow and shrugged.

"Ok then." She then looked at Sasuke. He was just staring at her. Sakura felt a blush appear on her face. In result, Sasuke smirked.

"Sooooooooo." said Naruto, who was getting bored of just standing around.

"I say we go to the lake tomorrow!" Naruto yelled. Hinata nodded.

"Yeah! That will be fun! We can bring Haruka, Ryuu, and Hanabi as well!" Naruto gave thumbs up.

"Heck yeah!" Hinata and Naruto then looked at Sakura.

"What do you say?" Sakura shrugged.

"Uhm. Sure." Naruto jumped up and down in happiness.

"Yippee!" He then turned to Sasuke and pointed at him. "Now you HAVE to go!"

* * *

**CHAPTER SONGS:**

**CRUSHCRUSHCRUSH**


	3. Chapter III

Sakura and Sasuke were on their way to Suna Lake. They were much ahead from the rest of the pack. More or less, because Sasuke was driving like a maniac.

"Sasuke! You're going to fast!" she yelled. Sasuke glanced down as the meter. He was going really fast. He slowed down a bit and smirked as he heard Sakura sigh in relief. They were still going fast and she was now comfortable. Win-win situations for the win!

"You do know your way to the lake, don't you?" Sakura asked as she looked behind her. The van her friends were in was in was nowhere in sight.

"Yes." Sasuke replied as he continued to drive. Soon they were in mountains and going on an off road trail. Sakura began to wonder where the heck the lake was. Shouldn't lakes have a normal road? Why are they off road? Is Sasuke trying to take a short cut?

"Are you sure this is the right way?" asked Sakura. Sasuke grunted and Sakura playfully nudged him in side. "'Hn' is not an answer." The young Uchiha rolled his eyes.

"Suna Lake is not your average lake." He told her. "It was discovered by our friends and/or rivals from Suna. That's why it's named Suna Lake. No one other than the senior classes at Suna High and Konoha Beach High know about it. It's sort of an uncharted island, but it's a lake in the mountains." After that, Sakura didn't question anymore. It was obvious that he knows where this place was. So she just shut her eyes and took a small nap.

"Sakura, we're here."

The pinkette slowly opened her eyes to see a sight she's never seen before. It was like looking into a picture. It was beautiful.

"Wow, Sasuke." Sakura said in astonishment. "It's beautiful." Sasuke nodded, took a deep breath in and stretched.

"Yeah." He replied.

...

...

About forty five minutes after Sasuke and Sakura's arrival, the rest of the gang arrived.

"Man Sasuke! You drive like a maniac!" Naruto yelled as he got out of the van. "Sakura, I don't know how you can let him drive!" he added. Sakura laughed and went to help everyone unload. This was going to be a fun trip. REALLY fun. Camp outs, swimming, s'mores, the whole shebang. This was Sakura's first camping trip and it sure as hell wasn't going to be her last.

Set up was done at about one. Everyone was in the lake, getting wet and having fun. Sakura laughed as she watched Tenten climb on Neji's shoulders and do a loud battle cry.

"C'mon Ino! I challenge thee!" she yelled. Ino, who rolled her eyes, looked to her boyfriend. He nodded.

"How troublesome." He mumbled

"Oh Shika! Don't be such a bore! Now let's go!"

Sakura had a fun time watching her two friends fight and cheering them on. She even began to seriously debate on whether she would wrestle the winner… but she would need to sit on somebody's shoulders. And all the girls are sitting on their boyfriend's shoulders… who would she sit on? She didn't have a boyfriend…

"Winner dibs!" Mizuki yelled. Within another minute Ino fell off Shikamaru's shoulders.

"Alright! VICTORY!" exclaimed Tenten.

"We'll see about that!" Mizuki replied as she climbed on her fiancé's shoulders.

"Kiba-kun. Let's not lose ok?" she told Kiba.

"No way will we lose!" he replied. Five minutes later Kiba, Tenten and Neji were laughing on how Mizuki fell off of Kiba's shoulders.

"Who's next?" Tenten asked. She then pointed to Sakura.

"C'mon Sakura! You're the only one who hasn't tried yet!" Sakura's eyes widened.

"N-no! That's ok!" She then heard Ryuu, Haruka, and Hanabi cheering.

"Go Sakura! Kick Tenten's butt!" Haruka yelled.

"YEAH!" replied Ryuu and Hanabi.

Sakura smiled and shrugged helplessly. "I don't have anyone to climb on! And besides Hinata hasn't even gone yet!" Tenten laughed.

"No excuses! Just go on Sasuke!" she replied. Sakura didn't say anything. What would Sasuke say? Would he let her climb on him so she could wrestle Tenten? She looked at Sasuke, he was just staring at her.

"How about it Sasuke! You gonna let Sakura use your shoulders!" Sasuke shrugged and swam over to Sakura. "Hop on." He said to her. Sakura, hesitant at first, got on his shoulders. She and Tenten then started to push each other.

"You're not gonna win three times in a row!" yelled Sakura.

"Oh yeah I will!" replied Tenten. She then pushed Sakura with all her might, luckily Sakura managed to stay on Sasuke's shoulders. The game continued on for ten minutes and both girls were tired. Finally Sakura managed to push Tenten off Neji's shoulders.

"Yeah! I win!" she exclaimed. Tenten emerged from under the water.

"For now!" Tenten yelled as she swam to dry land. "Let's take a break! I'm starving!" Everyone laughed and got out of the water. Food sounded good right now. And from what Sakura was told, Hinata was an _excellent_ cook.

At about ten pm, everyone sat around a fire roasting marshmallows. Well, everyone except for Hanabi, Ryuu, and Haruka. They already were fast asleep in a tent.

"So Mizuki, when's the wedding?" Hinata randomly asked. Sakura didn't say anything because it might be rude, but she was BEYONDLY confused. Who was getting married?

"Sometime next year I think. I kind of want a winter wedding." Mizuki replied. As everyone talked about the wedding, Sakura was confused. And Tenten seemed to take notice of this.

"Hey Kiba, Mizuki, why don't you tell the story about your engagement? Sakura looks confused right now."

The couple looked at each other. Who was going to tell the dream story?

"You tell it." Kiba said. "You tell it better." Mizuki smiled and nodded.

"Well we've been dating since we were twelve though we didn't like each other. It was an arranged engagement by our families. But after about a couple months were grew on each other. It was weird, but before you know it we loved each other. Then when we were fourteen the engagement was called off due to a huge feud between our families. So for our family's sake, we tried to move on with different people, but it just didn't work out. The space didn't make our love for each other vanish, the space made our love stronger. So we started to see each other again when we were fifteen, and then on the night of my sixteenth birthday Kiba-kun asked me to be his wife. It was the most memorable day of my life. But my family didn't approve and threatened to disown me if I didn't return the ring. I refused and so they followed through with their threats. I was disowned…" Mizuki sadly smiled as a couple tears slipped from her eyes. Kiba immediately wiped them away and kissed her on the cheek.

"That's when Kiba-kun's family took me in. They didn't care about the engagement…well they did but not in a bad sense. They celebrated it. They all wanted Kiba to be happy and he had assured them that with me, he couldn't be any happier." Mizuki stopped talking and cuddled with Kiba.

And so before Sakura knew it, a 'mood' occurred. Tenten started to cuddle with Neji, Ino cuddled with Shikamaru, Hinata with Naruto and the only two left were Sakura and Sasuke. They were staring at each other from across the fire. Why? Sakura didn't know. But there was something about Sasuke eyes that were so…_entrancing_. Sakura couldn't help but look away after a while. Her face felt hot. But was it from the fire, or was it from something else? She didn't know…

She looked at everyone else, they were sleeping. How long had she and Sasuke been staring at each other? Sakura's eyes wondered off to where Sasuke was sitting, except he was no longer there.

"_Where?"_

Suddenly Sasuke was there, sitting next to her, _staring_ at her. Sakura could feel the blush burning her skin and she no longer had control over her eyes; they were lost in his dark onyx eyes.

As Sasuke stared at her, he felt his body moving in. Leaning towards her. He wasn't sure why he was doing this… it was just…_ so right_. This girl was so different from others. He didn't care that he's only known her for a few days. She was one in a million. She was… she just was…

Sakura's body did the same. Their faces coming closer and closer, there was one a distance of about a centimeter between then. Sakura tilted her head, ready to do something she hasn't even thought of.

3

2

1

"**AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"** The could-have-been kiss broke apart. Sakura got up and ran towards the tent Haruka and Hanabi were staying in. They were screaming bloody murder!

"What's going on!" Another loud set screams was heard while Hanabi, and Haruka ran out of the tent, running Sakura into the ground. Sasuke helped her up, causing Sakura to blush madly. But she attempted to ignore it. Key word: _attempted_.

"There's a rat in there!" Haruka yelled. Instantly every girl, who miraculously hadn't been awakened by the screams, woke up and frantically looked for something to stand on. Sakura though, was the only girl who DIDN'T.

"That's it?" she asked annoyed. Honestly… it's just a RAT. Not an alligator.

"What do you mean _'that's it'_?" yelled Hanabi. "Sakura, you can't be serious. A rat is filthy and carries diseases and to top it all off, it's got a _tail_!"

Sakura sighed, walked in the tent. "There you are!" she exclaimed in moments. The pinkette then walked out, holding something by its tail. All the girls screamed and all the guys covered their ears.

"Honestly. You sound like it's gonna kill you!" Sakura exclaimed.

She then went into the woods and emerged from then seconds later.

"It's gone." She said. The girls slowly walked towards the fire, joining their boyfriends.

"Wow Sakura, you're brave." Ino dramatically replied.

Sakura smiled and then looked at Haruka and Hanabi, "You two can go back to sleep now."

They nodded and went back into their tent.

"Speaking of sleep, did Ryuu ever wake up?" asked Naruto.

Sasuke then walked over to a tent and peaked in it.

"Nope." He said bluntly. Everyone started to laugh.

...

...

It was late and everyone is still awake. They were currently playing Truth or Dare. It was Sakura's turn.

"Sakura! Truth or Dare?" Sakura wasn't in much of a dare mood since the whole kiss thing with Sasuke, though nothing happened. And there was no way she was going to risk a dare from Ino or someone.

"Truth." She replied.

"Is it true you are talented at singing?" Hinata was the one asking the question, even though she already knew the answer. Sakura nodded, while Hinata smiled evilly.

"Prove it." Sakura smiled. She had no problem showing off her talent. No problem at all.

"What shall I sing?" she asked.

"Anything." Hinata replied slyly. Sakura shrugged. She'd have to sing something she wrote because that was all she knew.

"Hinata! Don't be mean! Sakura, you don't have to sing anything." Mizuki exclaimed.

"It's no problem." Sakura replied as she shrugged. She then stood up and took a deep breath.

"_I climb, I slip, I fall__  
__Reaching for your hands__  
__But I lay here all alone__  
__Sweating all your blood_

_If I could find out how__  
__To make you listen now__  
__Because I'm starving for you here__  
__With my undying love__  
__And I, I will_

_Breathe for love tomorrow__  
__Cause there's no hope for today__  
__Breathe for love tomorrow__  
__Cause maybe there's another way_

_I climb, I slip, I fall__  
__Reaching for your hands__  
__But I lay here all alone__  
__Sweating all your blood_

_If I could find out how__  
__To make you listen now__  
__Because I'm starving for you here__  
__With my undying love__  
__And I, I will_

_Breathe for love tomorrow__  
__Cause there's no hope for today__  
__Breathe for love tomorrow__  
__Cause maybe there's another way_

_Breathe for love tomorrow__  
__Cause there's no hope for today__  
__Breathe for love tomorrow__  
__Cause maybe there's another way_

_I climb, I slip, I fall__  
__Into your empty hands__  
__But I lay here all alone__  
__Sweating all your blood__"_

Sakura stopped singing and sat down. Everyone was in awe, well everyone except Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke. The silence continued for about another minute until Sakura broke it.

"So uh w-who's turn is it?" she asked. Why was she stuttering? She's performed in front of a lot of people! And not once did she get nervous!

"_But then again, I didn't KNOW them."_ She noted.

"It's Sasuke's turn!" Naruto replied. Everyone slowly came back down to earth.

"So Sasuke Truth or Dare?" Ino asked. Sasuke shrugged. He didn't care much for this game. It was, as Shikamaru would say, _troublesome_.

"Ooook. Naruto! Choose for Sasuke. Truth or Dare?" Naruto smiled.

"DARE!" he yelled out.

"Right. Ok. Sasuke I dare you toooooo…To kiss Sakura!" Sasuke shrugged again and walked over to Sakura. He planted a kiss on her cheek.

"I'm going to bed." He then said while walking off to a tent.

"Hey! Wait! You weren't supposed to kiss her on the cheek! It was supposed to be-" Ino was interrupted by Shikamaru.

"Troublesome woman. You never specified that. So he wasn't gonna do it." Ino huffed.

"Fine."

"I say it's time for bed. We'll have to get up EARLY tomorrow morning." Neji said as he stood up.

"How come?" Sakura asked.

"Cause tomorrow is our morning hike!" Tenten replied as Neji helped her up.

"You guys hike?"

"Yeah! At least once, we go for a morning hike and take a picnic with us and have breakfast with the sunrise!"

Sakura smiled. Breakfast with the sunrise, that sounds very nice…even _romantic_. Which is kind of weird… her eyes looked over to Sasuke, he was pulling his sleeping bag out of the back of the van.

Does Sasuke like her? How would breakfast at sunrise be…_with SASUKE_? She tried to shake the thought but couldn't. WHY?

Sasuke caught her gaze and he smirked as she suddenly looked away. What was she thinking about?

Slowly everyone was getting up heading for their tent, though Sakura, who was no longer tired because of _thoughts_, decided to stay up a bit longer.

...

...

...

The next morning (which started at 4am) everyone was packing their things getting ready for the hike. Sakura was excited. She's never seen a sunrise from the top of a hill-ish mountain. Yes, she was tired AS HELL from stupidly staying up WAY later than everyone else. But with the thoughts roaming through her head…falling asleep was practically impossible.

"You look tired." Someone said from behind her. Sakura knew it was Sasuke. He was the only one that actually likes to sneak up on her…or at least, he the only one who DID sneak up on her.

"Yeah…I couldn't sleep last night." She replied as she yawned and stretched.

"HEY! ARE YOU GUYS READY?" Naruto yelled.

"Baka! Shut up! It's 4 in the morning!"

"What'd you say Ino?"

"You heard me! SHUT UP!"

Sakura laughed (and yawned) at Ino and Naruto's bickering. God she was tired. Why did Sasuke have to keep her awake? Damn it all…

"C'mon! Let's go already!" Mizuki exclaimed as she pulled Kiba's hand towards the trail. Everyone began to follow.

"So… (yawn) how many times have you guys done this _breakfast with sunrise_ thing?" Sakura asked as they walked. Sasuke walked right behind her while everyone else walked in front. Why, she didn't know. But he just did.

"Well…we haven't exactly done it before. This is our first time. We just talked about it and never got around to it cause… well cause…yeah." Mizuki replied.

"Cause why?" Sakura asked. Hinata then jumped next to Sakura and whispered in her ear.

"Because it was supposed to happen when EVERYONE had a girlfriend or boyfriend. We never did it because Sasuke wouldn't get a girlfriend."

Sakura WANTED to blush. She wasn't sure if she did or didn't. Hinata continued to walk next to her, she was telling Naruto something. Sakura took this chance to take a small glance at Sasuke. He was looking at the _wilderness_. But he probably knew what Hinata was telling her. That smirk he was trying to hide was very hard to miss.

"But…Hinata…Sasuke still doesn't have a girlfriend." Sakura whispered. Hinata smiled.

"Not official…yet. Anyways." And with that said, she ran up to walk with Naruto. Sakura knew she was blushing madly. Dang it, Hinata!

The hike up was very long for Sakura. Aside from her being tired, she HATED the fact that Sasuke was walking behind her. She felt so uncomfortable. To stop this, she slowed down and started walking next to Sasuke. He didn't seem to mind, and Sakura felt a lot more comfortable… but the silence between them was _unbearable_.

"Soo…" she said, attempting to start a conversation. Sasuke looked at her. "What?" she asked.

"What time did you go to sleep?"

Sakura thought about it. She didn't know the actual time. She was just up. Unable to sleep.

"I'm not sure, why?" Sasuke shrugged.

"You look tired."

Sakura laughed and rolled her eyes. Then she yawned and sighed. Damn she was tired. Suddenly she bumped into something.

"huh?"

"Get on."

Sasuke was kneeling in front of her, offering his back.

"N-no! That's okay, Sasuke. I can walk. I'm fine." She said as she tried to walk around him. But Sasuke just walked in front of her and did it again.

"We can do this all the way there. And that's not going to be for a while. So quit being stubborn and get on. You look tired."Sakura smiled and gave in. She climbed on his back and allowed Sasuke to give her a piggy back ride. "Now go to sleep." He told her. But Sakura didn't need to hear that twice. She eyes were already closed.

...

...

"Sakura-chan! WAKE UP! Sunrise is almost here!" Sakura lazily opened her eyes to Haruka's outburst. It took her a couple seconds to realize that she was laying on a blanket on the floor with Sasuke sitting to her left and Ryuu, Haruka and Hanabi sitting to her right

Sakura sat up to see that each couple was sitting on their own blanket, getting comfortable. Sakura couldn't help but look at Sasuke. He was staring off into the horizon. Did he want to get comfortable too?

"It's starting." He calmly said.

Sakura was amazed. The view was _beautiful_. Completely beautiful. The sun was coming up with different rays of yellow, orange, and a bit of pink. Sakura wished she had a camera.

_Click. Click. Click._

"…Naruto has a camera?" she randomly said. Naruto was standing off to the side and taking pictures with what looked like a VERY expensive camera. Sasuke looked back to his best friend and smirked.

"The dobe loves cameras. Everything he does deals with cameras. That's his job."

"He's a photographer?"

"Not exactly."

Sakura waited for Sasuke to continue but he never did. So she left it at that. She wanted to continue to watch the sunrise. Soon, it was over.

"FOOD TIME!" Tenten yelled as she ran to the picnic basket. Naruto and Neji began to pull all the blankets together and lay out new ones so there can be one big sitting area. Shikamaru and Ino began unloading plates while Hinata, Mizuki and Tenten unloaded the food and Sakura and Sasuke got the drinks.

"So what's on the menu?" Ryuu asked.

"Mizuki's _amazing_ apple cinnamon pancakes." Hinata replied.

"And Hinata's _amazing _fruit salad." Mizuki added in.

"And don't forget Tenten's kick-ass fruit juice!" Tenten exclaimed. Everyone laughed.

"Yes, yes. And Tenten's _kick-ass _fruit juice." Ino replied.

Once everything was set up, everyone enjoyed their food. Sakura couldn't believe what she was eating. It was _amazing_. No, amazing is an understatement. She couldn't even describe how good it was. It was just, wow.

...

...

...

The gang made their way back to the camp site and once done putting everything away, they went to the water.

"Hey guys, when are we leaving for home?" Hanabi asked as she was drying her hair with a towel. Ryuu was standing right by her, waiting for her. Sakura noticed that they were spending an unusual amount of time together while here. But, it wasn't something she needed to worry about. Things happen. And as long as someone doesn't end up pregnant, it's _aaaaallll gooooood._

"Tomorrow morning. Why?" Hinata replied. Hanabi shrugged and pulled out her cellphone.

"Konohamaru called. He and Moegi want to hang out with me, Haruka and Ryuu."

"Oh," Hinata replied and smiled. "Well tell him that we're going to be back by noon tomorrow."

On the way back into the city, Sakura rode with Sasuke. He was once again, driving like a maniac. Despite all of Sakura's warnings of getting into a wreck. But she was getting used to it… sort of.

_'I think I'll sleep on the way back.'_ Sakura told herself. She went to bed a bit too late (again) and was dead tired from two days of little sleep. But, is it safe to fall asleep on the back of a motorcycle? Would she fall off?

"Just go to sleep already. You won't fall."

"…what?" Sakura replied, completely flabbergasted. HOW THE HELL DID HE KNOW WHAT SHE WAS THINKING!

"You keep yawning and you keep looking at the street. You're not going to fall. Just to go sleep. You look tired."

"_Is 'you look tired' code for 'go to sleep cause those bags under your eyes look nasty'?"_ Sakura asked herself. She chuckled and closed her eyes. Sasuke wouldn't let her fall off the motorcycle. He would make sure she was safe…

...

...

...

Sakura's eyes slowly opened and she found herself in her room back at the Uchiha's house.

"How the heck…?" she whispered as her eyes motioned towards the clock. 1:11 pm. The pinkette got up and stretched. Suddenly the door to her room opened.

"Oh! Ms. Sakura you're awake! That's good, you're just in time. There is someone here to see you." the maid told her. Sakura nodded and ran out the door. She didn't want to keep the person waiting.

"Thank you!" she yelled on her way out. Downstairs Sakura saw Tenten waiting at the door.

"Tenten!"

"Hey Sakura! Everyone is gonna go shopping for Hinata's birthday. She's gonna be 18. Do you wanna come?" Sakura was about to nod but didn't.

"Actually, uh… I have something do to… I'll just get her something later today…" Tenten looked at her weird but shrugged nodded.

"Ok then. I'll see ya around." Tenten left and Sakura sat on a stair.

"I need to get a job." She told herself. She wanted to get something for Hinata. She didn't want it to be with the Uchiha's money. She wanted it to be with HER money. So she can say that it was 100% from her. But where the heck is she going to get a job?

_"You have reached Yamanaka Ino, I'm sorry but I am not here at the moment. Please leave your name, number, and a brief message and I will get back to you as soon as possible!"_A beep was heard seconds later.

"Hey Ino, It's Sakura. Listen I need to ask you a favor, can you call me back? Uhm I'm not sure what the number is but you can just call Sasuke's house and well yeah I should be here." Sakura then hung up the phone. She was thankful that she has everyone's phone number written down.

"What to do?" Sakura asked herself. She then left her room and walked outside. She wondered, looking for nothing specific.

"Excuse me Miss Sakura; there is a phone call for you." One of the Uchiha's maids told her. In result Sakura ran in the house and picked up the nearest phone.

"Hello?"

_"Hey Sakura! I just missed your call, so what's up?"_

"Ino! Yes thank you! Uhm I was wondering if you could do me a HUGE favor." Sakura asked.

_"Sure thing. What is it?"_ Ino replied. Sakura sighed.

"You know how Hinata's birthday is coming up? Well,_ I _want to get her something. With money that _I_ earned and well yeah. I don't have any and well…I… I need a job. And I was wondering if…if your parent's coffee shop needed anyone."

_"You're so lucky that my parents have a help wanted sign in the front! Haha! Sure, just come by in an hour; we are on lunch break right now."_

"Awesome! Thank you SO MUCH!"

_"Don't mention it!"_

"Ok thanks again! Bye!" Sakura hung up the phone. _"YES!"_ she thought to herself. Sakura then skipped out of the room and accidentally bumped into someone.

"Oh! Sorr-"Sakura looked at who she bumped into. It was Sai. He was holding some bags in his hands; it looked as if he was going somewhere. Was Sasuke finally kicking him out?

"Ah Ugly!"

Sakura twitched.

"So uhm Sai, are y-you going somewhere?" she tried asking politely. She failed with flying colors. But she didn't really care.

"Yeah I am. I'm going back home." He replied with a smile. Sakura nodded.

"Well bye!" she said happily. Sai had a weird smile on his face… like he was…thinking something…weird…

"Do me a favor will you?" he asked. Sakura raised an eyebrow. What's up with this guy?

"And what's that?" she cautiously replied. Sai leaned in towards Sakura's ear.

"Don't break my cousin's heart." He whispered. Sakura's eyes widened. She couldn't reply; she was stunned. Why? She has no idea. Sai left the room and walked out of the door. Sasuke then entered the room. He looked at Sakura, she was just standing there.

"Are you ok?" he asked her while looking at her face. Instantly Sakura's face reddened.

"Uh yeah! Of course I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be?" she exclaimed trying to act calm. Sasuke raised his eyebrow, and shrugged. He then started to walk out of the room.

"Uh, Sasuke." Sakura called out. He turned around.

"Do you think you can drop me off at the Yamanaka Coffee Shop?"

...

...

"Sakura!" Ino exclaimed as she saw Sakura hop off of Uchiha Sasuke's motorcycle. Sakura smiled and waved in response and then turned to Sasuke.

"T-thanks for dropping me off." She said while attempting blushing. _"WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH ME, DANG IT!"_ Sasuke nodded.

"Call me when you need to be picked up." He somehow nicely ordered. Sakura smiled and nodded.

"I'll probably call you from Ino's cell phone or even from the phone from here." She replied while pointing at the coffee shop. In result, Sasuke raised an eyebrow, though you couldn't really see it with his motorcycle helmet on.

"Why?" he asked.

"Uhm… cause I don't have a cell phone?" Sakura replied. It was kind of obvious. Cause, seriously. What ex-homeless charity act would have a cellphone? Seconds later Sasuke handed his cell phone to her.

"I have a spare." He said. Sakura shook her head and immediately handed it back.

"No really, that isn't necessary. You've already done so much, the last thing I need to do is take everything you give me." Sakura paused then smiled. "People might think your spoiling me."

And in a fluid motion, Sasuke took off his helmet and got off his motorcycle, though it was still on. He looked at Sakura straight in the eyes.

"I am." He said. Sasuke then kissed Sakura's forehead, put the helmet back on, and drove off.

Sakura looked down at the cellphone that magically re-appeared in her hand. Why…why was Sasuke so nice…? He's given her so much… He…he needs to stop… it's… it's going overboard!

"_I feel like a freeloading rat…"_

_..._

_..._

_..._

"So Sakura, that's about it for the cashier, next is waiting the tables, basically you and I are going to take orders and stuff like that. Finally there is the cleaning, my _'favorite part'_, we are to clean every table, every dish, the floor, chairs, windows, basically everything. And that's it. Any questions?" Ino was currently informing Sakura of her new job. Today she was getting something easy, and will be working the cash register.

"The uniform?" she asked. Ino ran out the room and back in with a dark blue blazer.

"The uniform is simple. Just a simple pair of jeans, a simple shirt, and this blazer. You will get your name tag in about half an hour. My dad is getting it." Ino replied. Sakura nodded and put on the blazer.

"So, when are the breaks and lunch?"

"The breaks are whenever this place is not busy. Since it's only the two of us, I think it would be good if we switch off when it's not busy."

Sakura nodded once again, and started to head off towards the register.

"What time does this place open and close? And what are the busiest times, if you don't mind me asking." Sakura asked. Ino smiled and made a conceited stance **(A/N: A conceited stance is what I call when someone leans on one side of the body and places one hand on their hip…)**

"You're just chopped full of questions aren't you? Ah oh well I guess that's good. Uhm basically we open at six in the morning and close at eight in the evening. But we usually don't leave until nine from all the cleaning and junk. The busiest times are breakfast, and sometimes lunches. It all depends for lunches though." Sakura smiled.

"Oh okay… and Ino? Thank you. This is a huge help. I really needed a job." She said. Ino nodded and made a nonchalant wave.

"Don't mention it. Now let's get to work."

* * *

**CHAPTER SONGS:**

**BREATHE **


	4. Chapter IV

A couple weeks passed since Sakura had gotten her job at the Yamanaka Coffee Shop. She liked working there and she earned a decent pay. With her first paycheck she happily bought Hinata her birthday present, and just in time too. The celebration was the very next day.

**Flashback:**

"_Oh wow! Thank you Sakura!" exclaimed Hinata as she looked at her present. It was__a light blue headband, a few light blue bracelets, and a light blue ball necklace. Sakura smiled._

"_I'm glad you like them!" she replied._

**End Flashback**

"Hello, welcome to the Yamanaka Coffee Shop. How may I help you?" Sakura asked a customer. He had dark red hair, jade green eyes, and pale skin. He seemed…very serious…

"_Kind of like Sasuke…"_ she involuntary noted. _"But with red hair."_

She continued to wait for her customer to answer. He was looking at the menu above her.

"How are your Strawberry Danishes?" he asked without changing his focus.

"Oh! Those are really good!" she truthfully told. The Strawberry Danishes were her favorite along with the Vanilla Frappuccino. The customer nodded.

"I'll have a Strawberry Danish and a coffee…To go." He said. Sakura nodded and wrote down his order.

"And your name is?" she asked.

"Gaara." He replied.

"Ok Gaara. Your total is 6.32. Your name will be called when your order is ready." Sakura said waited for Gaara to hand her the money. Once done so, Gaara took a seat closest to a window. He couldn't shake Sakura's hair out of his mind.

"_What kind of person dyes their hair pink?" _he thought to himself. Suddenly he jumped when his phone vibrated.

"Hello?" he answered. "Yes, Hinata… I am aware of that… Yes I know that… I should be over in about ten to fifteen minutes. I'm just getting some breakfast… Yes… No… Maybe… Oh really? May I talk to him?" Gaara paused. _"Could this really be the girl he was talking about?"_

"Ah, Sasuke... Yes I'm heading over. I was just wondering, that girl you've told me about, the one you want me to see…Does she have -…yes… oh really? Well, is it _natural_? … What do you mean 'you don't know'? Haven't you asked her? … Interesting… Well, I'm on my way after I get my breakfast. I'll catch you later. Bye." Once Gaara hung up his phone and looked over at Sakura. _"If you're as good as they say you are and this all works out, pink hair dye will sell out everywhere."

* * *

_

Over at the Uchiha's house, Sasuke and his cousins were getting ready for an arrival of an old friend. They hadn't seen him in a while and Sasuke wasn't all that happy with the fact that he's coming over is purely business. That was Hinata's fault though. She was the one that was pushing all of this… regardless; it was a mutual agreement among everyone…though he still had his small doubts.

"Hinata" Neji called out.

"Yes, Neji?" the said girl replied.

"Are you sure Gaara will do this favor…I mean he may be our friend, but don't you think he will be a little offended? He might think we are taking advantage. After all, you didn't tell him why exactly you wanted him to come over…" Neji openly said. Sasuke couldn't help but agree. Hinata smiled she could tell that they was doubting her plan.

"Now you guys, don't worry so much! I promise it will work. Stop doubting! And besides, it's just ONE little favor."

"You're asking him to interview and observe Sakura. And then see if his father will agree to sign her and the band, which even we haven't heard. She may have gone to some practices but how do we know their ability? She hasn't even been with them for more than a couple weeks. If this doesn't work out it can cause problems." Sasuke, who was leaning on the wall, made very valid points. But Hinata was confident. _More_ than confident. "I think it's pointless. It won't be much longer 'till Kunoichi is done with that law suit. She can wait a little longer." He said walking over and taking a seat in the couch.

"But it WILL work out! Have you seen some of the bands Kazekage has signed? They are great! And no she can't wait for Kunoichi! She's got such a great voice! And if she goes with them, they will limit her artistic freedom because all they care about is how big you are. They don't even sign bands Sasuke! If you listened to music from their label, you would know. But you don't. You're putting her to the wrong label. Kazekage is one of the best. You don't get on it if you don't have something special. So if Gaara agrees to this and they get signed, Rumore will get BIG." Hinata explained.

"How long have you been thinking about this Hinata?" Neji asked.

"Since Kunoichi started the law suit. The only reason why there is even a law suit is because the girl is tired of them picking and choosing for her. She wanted some FREEDOM. "

Just as Sasuke was going to reply, a maid entered the room.

"Excuse me Hinata-san, Neji-san, and Sasuke-san. A person by the name Gaara is here." She said.

"Let him in!" Hinata eagerly replied. The maid nodded and left the room. Moments later, Gaara entered the room.

"Gaara!" Hinata exclaimed as she hugged him. Gaara returned the hug and looked over to Neji and Sasuke.

"Hey." He said. They both nodded in acknowledgment.

"Gaara." Hinata called. "We have a favor to ask you."

* * *

"Sakura, take your lunch break!" Ino yelled. It was currently 4:30 and Sakura still hadn't taken it. Today was a rather busy day at Yamanaka Coffee Shop. People were just in the mood for their Strawberry Danishes. And it was kind of funny. Once that red headed guy got it, EVERYONE got it. What, was he a celebrity or something?

"In a minute!" The pinkette replied as she washed dishes. Ino huffed went in the kitchen and took the sponge from Sakura's hands.

"You've been saying that since 3:15! Take it now! What use will you be if you die of starvation!" Sakura laughed in response.

"Fine. I'm going on break NOW." She said. She then sat down and sighed. She was fairly tired, today was quite busy at the Yamanaka Coffee Shop. _"I still have practice with the band at 6:30."_ She mentally told herself.

"Hey Ino." She called out.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you can let me off early today? I have practice with the band at six thirty." Sakura yawned and then looked at Ino. She nodded.

"Yeah, actually you can take the rest of today off. You've done a lot as it is." Sakura smiled and then laughed out loud. She had done most of Ino's job and all of hers so she could get off early.

"Thanks." She said while hanging up her blazer. "I'll see you tomorrow."Once said, she walked out the door.

"_I guess I can go home and rest."_ She told herself. Sakura now referred to the Uchiha's house as home. They were like her family…although Sasuke, she still felt confused about.

Did she like him? Was he special to her? He's given her so much… does he see her as more than a friend? Sakura didn't know. She was so confused when it came to Sasuke. She was told by Hinata and all her other girlfriends that he likes her, but she continues to deny it. Why, she didn't know. But…

"_Why would he like someone like me? A freeloader? A homeless? … but I'm not homeless anymore… Now I'm just a freeloader…" _Suddenly she jumped due to something vibrating in her pocket. It was her new cell phone she had just bought last week. She couldn't keep the one Sasuke gave her. It didn't matter how much he told her to keep it or how much he said that he had a spare. She needed to give it back.

"Hello?" Sakura answered. "Oh. Hey, Sasuke…Actually, I am on my way there. I have practice with Rumore at six thirty…No, no! It's ok. I can-" Sasuke hung up, causing Sakura to sigh. Sasuke was coming to pick her up. WHY MUST HE SPOIL HER? She should really talk to him about that…but what if he took it the wrong way?

"_Guess I have no choice…"_ she thought to herself. Sakura walked back in the coffee shop.

"Didn't you just leave?" Ino asked as she emerged from the kitchen. Sakura laughed and sighed

"Sasuke is coming to pick me up." Ino laughed.

"He really likes you."Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Right." She replied sarcastically.

Ino rolled her eyes and went back in the kitchen. Instantly Sakura took out her notebook. She refused to get rid of it and she still carried it around with her everywhere. She was working on a song, it was…difficult. She's never really dealt with such a mixture of emotions. It was affecting her lyric writing. Sasuke stayed on her mind _constantly_. But she figured that once it was out of her system, everything would be okay. Who knows, her feelings towards Sasuke might clear.

About fifteen minutes later, the famous Uchiha came in through the door. Sakura smiled and went over to him.

"Hello." She said with a smile. Sasuke smirked.

"Hey. Let's go." He replied. Sakura nodded, and found Sasuke holding the door open for her. She then somewhat ran over to his motorcycle and put on the helmet he got for her.

"You're happy." He stated. Sakura nodded. Why where the heck did this sudden rush of happiness come from?

Sasuke mounted his bike, placing his helmet on seconds later and turned on his favorite bike in the world.

"Oh Sasuke-kun!" someone called. Sakura groaned. It was Ami, no doubt about it. Anyone could tell who she is from her voice. And just like that, her happiness began to fade.

"What do you want Ami?" Sasuke rudely replied.

"Word on the street is that you've been awfully nice to that Sakura-slut." Sasuke didn't reply. "Sasuke-kun, are you cheating on me with that slut?" She said rather loud. Sadly it caught attention and before anyone knew it, paparazzi, who were hiding nearby, ran over towards the scene. Ami then started to cry historically. "I thought you loved me!"She exclaimed in her tears. Sakura started to laugh. Obviously this was all an act, and obviously Ami didn't know that Sakura was RIGHT THERE. Time to take advantage of this beautiful situation!

"What the hell are you laughing at?" Ami yelled as she cried. Sakura got off the motorcycle, but left her helmet on.

"You." She replied. Ami stopped crying and scowled.

"It's you." She said coldly. Sakura then laughed again.

"No shit Sherlock." She replied. Sakura wasn't all for cussing, but if someone like Ami was around and doing something _completely and utterly stupid_, she couldn't help if a couple colorful words slipped.

Ami stomped on the floor with one foot and pointed accusingly at the pink haired girl before her.

"You better leave my Sasuke-kun alone, or I will beat the shit out you…bitch!" Sakura scoffed and waved her hand nonchalantly.

"Whatever. First of all, he is not YOUR'S. Second of all, you couldn't beat me up even if I was deaf, blind and dumb." Ami glared hard.

"THAT IT!" she yelled. "I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU AND YOUR POOR ASS! WE WERE ALL FINE UNTIL YOU CAME ALONG! IT USED TO BE JUST ME AND SASUKE! YOU HEAR THAT? **ME AND SASUKE!** WE WERE THE PERFECT COUPLE. ALWAYS ON MAGAZINES, ALWAYS GETTING GOOD PUBLICITY! AND THEN YOU CAME! JUST OUT OF NO WHERE! YOU BRAINWASHED HIM DIDN'T YOU? DIDN'T YOU? WHY DON'T YOU JUST GO BACK TO YOUR SLEEPING TUNNEL AT THE PARK!"

Sakura stood still. Completely stunned. How did she know about…? No one knows about her being homeless… no one except the Uchiha's and her friends knew about that.

"YEAH! I KNOW ABOUT THAT! THE WHOLE WORLD DOES! DO YOU THINK THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO FAMILY THAT THE PAPARAZZI WOULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHO YOU REALLY ARE, YOU POOR PINK HAIRED FREE LOADING LOW LIFE OF A BITCH!"

Though no one can see her face, she was pissed and sad and just a whole lot of other emotions. Her hands were clutched into fists, and what made her madder, was that the damn paparazzi was just clicking away with pictures. She then slowly turned to Sasuke, looking as if she was going to leave. Suddenly Sakura then punched the living crap out of her Ami's face. She fell on the floor…unconscious. Suddenly more pictures began to flash, instantly Sakura jumped on the motorcycle grabbing onto Sasuke for dear life itself.

"Let's go!" she yelled, wanting to get away from the commotion. Shocked at first by her actions, Sasuke quickly drove off, driving past red lights, and stop signs. They got away.

"Thank goodness." Sakura said as she sighed. She then looked around her. "Where are we?" she asked. Sasuke stopped at a red light.

"Downtown Konoha. The dirtiest place around. My father has been trying to get something here to help these people, but no one will help. It's as if they don't care about others." Sakura nodded.

"How sad." She said quietly while looking at all the poor people. She was grateful for what the Uchiha's had done for her and the twins. But reality worked at its best. Not everyone is as fortunate.

"You know…I never thought you would hit her. As I recall, you said you don't approve of violence." Sasuke said with tease in his voice. He then felt Sakura shrug.

"She deserved it." She replied quietly. The young Uchiha could tell she did not want to continue on the subject. So they drove home in silence.

* * *

"Finally!" Hinata exclaimed as Sasuke and Sakura entered the door of the Uchiha's mansion. It was about five fifteen. "You two are late!" she then said.

"For what?" Sakura replied. Hinata then grabbed Sakura's hand and pulled her towards the living room.

"C'mon!"

In the living room, Neji conversed with Gaara. They were sitting across each other on opposing couches. They stopped talking as Hinata entered the room with Sakura, Sasuke was trailing behind.

"Sakura this is-" "Oh! I remember you! You're that guy I served! Uhm, Gaara, was it?" Sakura interrupted. Instantly Gaara smirked.

"You remember your customers. That's good." He replied. Sakura smiled and nodded.

"So what's all this about?" she asked Hinata.

"Well you see, since Kunoichi is taking _SO LONG_ with their law suit. I asked Gaara check you and Rumore out. He's the CEO of Kazekage!" the Hyuuga happily replied.

"Kaze…Kage?" questioned Sakura.

"Kazekage is a band label. We sign bands … and single artists once and a while." Gaara answered. Sakura smiled.

"That sounds awesome! Rumore will really like this news…" She said. Gaara nodded.

"When can I see _Rumore_?" he questioned.

"Well…uhm, can you give me a minute?" Sakura asked. Gaara nodded and the pink haired teenager left the room. She pulled out her cellphone and dialed TK's number.

"_Hello?"_ he answered.

"TK, it's Sakura. Listen I don't have much time but I have some BIG news."

"_What's up?"_

"You know Kazekage?"

"_Sure do."_

"Well, the CEO is here and he wants to hear Rumore." Sakura couldn't tell what TK said or did. She just learned a very VERY loud crash. It sounded like something fell… "Hello?"

"_I-I'm still here. I just…dropped something. But, uh, yeah! H-have the CEO come to practice today. We'll play Brighter. What do you think?" _Sakura smiled. That's exactly the song she was thinking about.

"Sounds perfect. We'll be there soon. Bye."

Sakura walked in the living room with a big smile. Everyone just stared at her as she sat in an arm chair.

"How do you guys feel about taking a small trip?" She asked. No one said much, which caused Sakura to laugh. "You are coming with me to practice."

* * *

"We're here!" Sakura yelled as they entered the garage of TK's small house. He still lived with his mom, but hey. Wouldn't you if you _just_ turned 18? And _just_ graduated?

"Hey! Plug the micro in and get set! Everyone is just about ready." TK replied as he messed with his guitar. While Sakura did so, Hinata, Neji, Gaara and Sasuke all stood in front. Watching and waiting. Hinata was excited beyond all reason. She KNEW Gaara would like them. She was just that confident. It didn't matter if she hadn't heard anything from them. Sakura's voice was phenomenal; she wouldn't go into a band without thinking it through. These guys were awesome.

Sasuke on the other hand, he was a bit unsettled. How good were these guys? And why did Sakura have to be the only girl in this band? That bugged him. What if one of them had a thing for her?

"_I'll just cut their head off…"_

"Okay everything's plugged in. Let's get started!" TK yelled. Sakura smiled and began to jump around to the music. She was SO pumped up for this.

"This is called Brighter." She said over the guitar. Sakura then began singing.

"_So this is how it goes__  
__Well I, I would have never known__  
__And if it ends today__  
__Well, I'll still say that you shine brighter than anyone_

_Now I think we're taking this too far__  
__Don't you know that it's not this hard?__  
__Well it's not this hard__  
__But if you take what's yours and I take mine__  
__Must we go there?__  
__Please not this time. No, not this time._

_Well this is not your fault__  
__But if I'm without you__  
__Then I will feel so small__  
__And if you have to go__  
__Always know that you shine brighter than anyone does._

_Now I think we're taking this too far__  
__Don't you know that it's not this hard?__  
__Well it's not this hard__  
__But if you take what's yours and I take mine__  
__Must we go there?__  
__Please not this time. No, not this time._

_If you run away now,__  
__Will you come back around?__  
__And if you ran away,__  
__I'd still wave goodbye__  
__Watching you shine bright._

_Now I think we're taking this too far__  
__Don't you know that it's not this hard?__  
__Well it's not this hard__  
__But if you take what's yours and I take mine__  
__Must we go there?__  
__Please not this time. No, not this time._

_And I'll wave goodbye__  
__Watching you shine bright__  
__(You shine bright, you shine bright)__  
__And I'll wave goodbye tonight."_

It was quiet by the time Rumore finished playing. No one said ANYTHING. Gaara wasn't even in the room. Had he left because he didn't like it? Why did he leave?

"Uhm…" she said. Her eyes drifted towards Sasuke. He was staring at her but then gestured his head towards outside the garage. Sakura looked over to TK, Dave (Rumore's Drummer), and Chris (Rumore's Bassist). "I'll be right back." She told them.

Outside the garage, Sakura bombarded Sasuke with questions.

"What happened? Why'd he leave? Did he not like us? He didn't like us, did he? What didn't he like? Constructive criticism is the best kind of criticism there is! Tell me what he didn't like? Were we even that bad? Was I off vocally? Why-" Sasuke covered Sakura's mouth and sighed.

"If you shut up for a minute, I can explain." Sakura nodded and Sasuke removed his hand. "Okay, so he couldn't stay the entire time. That's why he left. But he did like the band. He says your singing is great and that you guys as a group will do great. He plans on signing you guys but he needs to talk it over with his company. He'll call next Saturday."

Sakura was on the verge of crying. Was this _really_ happening? Was she dreaming? No. No she was not. This was real, this was really happening. RUMORE WAS GOING TO GET SIGNED!

Without thinking, Sakura happily screamed, jumped into Sasuke, and kissed him. Their lips met… for the first time…but it wasn't for the longest time. Sakura pulled away. Completely FREAKED. WHAT HAS SHE DONE?

"I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to do that! Oh crap! I'm sorry!" Sakura threw her hands to her face and took several steps away from Sasuke. "I didn't mean that. I really didn't. I'm so sorry." But did she mean it? Why did she kiss him? What just happened?

"Sakura…" Sasuke said in a soft voice. Oh man did she want to cry. Not because Rumore is going to get signed, but because she kissed SASUKE. THE UCHIHA SASUKE. Now he had to reject her. Cause he didn't like her like that…he just saw that she had a lot of talent and he wanted her to be exposed to the world… She knew that now.

"You don't have to say it Sasuke. I know you don't…_feel_ that way. It's okay. I…don't either. I was just…caught up in the moment, you know?" Sakura smiled on the outside but felt her heart shatter. Why though?

Sasuke stared at Sakura. She just kissed him…and he _liked it_. But she says that she doesn't feel the same way, she was just 'caught in the moment'. Who wouldn't be? Their band just got signed. That's pretty amazing for when you're only 17. But…did she really not feel _anything_ towards him.

"Sakura, I-" "Please don't say it Sasuke. I know, I really do. Things are going to be awkward for a bit…but it's gonna pass. I know it is." The pink haired beauty before him kept interrupting him…it was annoying…why couldn't she let him talk?

"Stop being ridiculous." He simply put it. She stared at him and Sasuke resisted the urge to just pull her into his arms…damn the moonlight. It was hitting her _perfectly_. How the hell can he talk while she looked like a damn _goddess_? "What makes you think that I _don't_ like you?"

Sakura was floored by this. Sasuke likes her? What? **(A/N: Yes, people. Sakura is this oblivious/in denial.)** Since WHEN? How could he even like her? She was a _freeloader._ Ami, the pompous ass, was sadly right… "Something's bothering you." Sasuke stated. Sakura didn't answer. She looked down. Something WAS bothering her. It was eating her away."What's wrong?" Sasuke asked her. Sakura shook her head again. She was so close to crying that she closed her eyes…but she could hear Sasuke takes steps towards her. He then gently picked up her head by the chin. "Sakura." He said. "What. Is. Wrong?" Sakura gave out a shaky sigh.

"It just that…Well, you and your family have done SO MUCH for me, Ryuu, and Haruka. And well…maybe…maybe what Ami said is right…Maybe I am a poor free loading low life-" "You mean poor pink haired free loading." Sasuke corrected in a teasingly manner. Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"Thank you." She said sarcastically. Sasuke laughed and gently cupped his hands around her neck and face. He pressed his forehead against hers.

"Look." He said. "Don't listen to her. She's just pissed and jealous because I don't love her." Sakura still didn't look at Sasuke, only down. She continued to question.

"But what if she's right? What if I am just-" Sasuke didn't let her finish her doubting sentence.

"You NOT. Stop questioning that. You are a one in a million."

"Why do you sound so sure? You're not the one-" "Sakura, look at yourself. You're beautiful, smart, caring, UNSELFISH, seeing on how you complain and whine at everything I try to give you and even have the audacity to give something back. You're just so much more." Sakura's eyes widened. She's never heard Sasuke talk like that. EVER. She looked up at him, recreating the eye contact that was broken earlier. His eyes though…

"_His eyes…they look so different."_ They looked warm, caring. Why? Why did… Sakura slowly leaned forward; unaware she was even doing so.

1 inch…

5 cm…

3 cm…

1 cm…

And then their lips met again…but much more officially.

* * *

A certain pink haired teenager awakened fairly happy at 10:00 am Thursday morning. She immediately took a nice shower and changed. Today she wore skinny jeans, a graphic tee and her converse. You know, the usual.

"Good morning!" she said happily as she ran into Ryuu, Haruka, and Hanabi.

"Morning!" they all replied in unison. Sakura smiled. It felt like she hadn't seen any of them in months. Probably because they are off having fun all the time. Kids will be kids.

"What are you three up to today?" she asked.

"Uhm we're probably gonna go head over to the new laser tag arena." Hanabi replied.

"There's a new laser tag arena?" Sakura replied in confusion. There's a laser tag arena? Let alone a _new one_? Since when?

"Yeah! We're gonna head over there with Konohamaru and Moegi!" Haruka exclaimed. Sakura nodded.

"Okay, do you guys need some money?" Sakura asked. She gave them each 20 bucks from her paycheck a week so they could learn how to manage and not just splurge. But she didn't mind giving them a little extra _every once and a while_.

"No, we're fine. Hanabi says Konohamaru has three all day laser tag passes because he's such a regular there." Haruka replied.

"Oh, well okay. That's pretty cool. Maybe if it's ok with the gang we'll be over there later. Have fun." She said smiling. Haruka, Hanabi, and Ryuu all smiled and went upon their business. Sakura then walked to the living room, hoping to see Hinata sitting watching TV. She was DYING to tell her and the rest of the girls what happened last night…come to think of it, what did happen? Were she and Sasuke…a couple?

"Good morning!" she said as she entered the living room. She then stopped in her tracks. A man was sitting on the couch. He looked serious, and it kind of scared Sakura.

"Good morning." The man monotonously replied.

"Good morning Sakura." Said someone from behind. It was Sasuke. He was holding a cup of coffee, most likely for the man on the couch. He then grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the couch with him. "Sakura, this is my father. Uchiha Fugaku." Sakura's eyes widened.

"Oh! U-uhm. H-hello s-sir." She said walking over to him and bowing. Darn, she tried so hard not to sound scared. Yet once again she failed with flying colors.

"Sasuke, who is this?" Fugaku asked his son.

"This is Haruno Sakura. The girl mother has been telling you so much about." He replied. Sakura could tell Sasuke had a lot of respect for this man. His tone of voice said it all.

"Oh really." Uchiha Fugaku replied. He then looked up at Sakura with his serious eyes. "I would like to hear you sing. My wife says you're fairly talented… along with my nieces, nephew, and son." Sakura blushed. She felt embarrassed. She didn't know what to say. Did her _really_ want her to sing, right here…RIGHT NOW? The elder Uchiha smirked. "Though I would like to hear you sing, I cannot. I have a very important meeting to get to. Maybe I can hear your talented voice some other time." Sakura smiled and nodded.

"That sounds great." She replied. Uchiha Fugaku nodded.

"Yes. Well I shall be on my way. Good bye Sasuke, Sakura." He said as he got up and left the living room. Sakura sighed in relief. She was very nervous and unprepared for that unexpected 'meeting'. Sasuke smirked.

"Aw c'mon, it wasn't THAT bad." He told her. Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"It was scary ok! He was so serious!" she exclaimed. Sakura shrugged.

"I didn't notice." He replied. Sakura grunted loudly in annoyance. Of course he didn't notice. HE WAS HIS SON! Suddenly Naruto, Hinata, Neji, and Tenten entered the room.

"Ok, so enough lollygagging, let's get to work." Hinata demanded… though she sounded extra perky.

"Ok! But where are Kiba, Mizuki, Shikamaru, and Ino? I thought they were coming?" Tenten replied.

"Kiba and Mizuki are off doing wedding business while Shikamaru is trying to apologize to Ino."

All the guys in the room had confused expressions on their faces. Why the hell was Shikamaru trying to apologize to Ino…_again_?

"Uh why? What happened now?" Naruto asked. Sadly though, he was ignored. Sakura, Hinata, and Tenten were having some kind of 'girl talk'.

"So he really did?" asked Sakura.

"Apparently. She was beyond mad." Hinata answered.

"I think there's more to it. Maybe it was a accident or something. Cause usually he's not like that. Usually he's more…sneaky." Tenten suggested.

"True." Hinata replied. Sakura then looked at Sasuke and the guys. She couldn't help but laugh. They were all looking at them like they were speaking a different language. Oh the minds of boys…

"Well you see, Ino caught Shikamaru 'cheating'. He was talking to another girl. I think her name was Temari, or something like that." She informed them.

"What! AGAIN!" Naruto yelled. All the girls nodded simultaneously.

"Yeah. She's been infatuated with Shikamaru for some time now. We just didn't know she would actually go behind Ino's back and do that…until Shikamaru was caught, that is." Tenten replied.

"Well, what actually happened? Cause from the sound of it, Ino is being a bit too harsh." Neji said.

"How can you say that? They were **talking**, and Ino says she saw that it was a little _MORE_ than just 'talking'. They were having too good of a time." Hinata exclaimed. Several boys rolled their eyes. Why must girls be so paranoid?

"But if nothing actually HAPPENED other than talking, there's no problem." Sasuke stated. Sakura sighed. Seeing his point… but he still didn't fully understand the status of the situation!

"Men." She said while shaking her head.

"Obviously they were flirting! And well, Ino and Shikamaru ARE DATING! There is a BIG PROBLEM in that! That's cheating!" Tenten yelled. The three boys looked at each other and shrugged.

"I don't think they were flirting. Maybe Temari just told a joke." Neji said. He was being a smart ass, everyone could tell. This caused the girls narrowed their eyes.

"Men these days!" They yelled in unison. Hinata was regained her composure.

"Well c'mon let's get to work on the logos." She said.

"Logos?" Sakura asked. What logos? Why did they have to make logos? What for? Hinata smiled.

"Yes logos! What else? Rumore needs _some_ kind of symbol. What else is going to go on the t-shirt and merch?"

"What merch? What t-shirts? What's going on?"

"Sakura, you're band just about got signed. You need to start selling stuff with your name on it! It's publicity!" And then it all came to Sakura. They wanted to start making designs, possible logos for the band. That's what they wanted to do. DUH!

And so, all six teenagers went in the living room. Discussing possible logos. Thirty minutes passed and Sakura was currently saying how she thinks the logo should look.

"I think the logo should be simple. We're all simple people in Rumore. We like simplicity… OH! I know! The logo should be -" She was interrupted when her cell phone vibrated. It was T.K. "Uh, you guys keep talking, I'll be right back." She said while leaving the room.

"Hello?" she asked. "Oh hey T.K…Oh, just discussing about how the logo should look for the merch…yeah that's EXACTLY what I was thinking…Oh really? What time? …Tomorrow at 7:30? …Uhmm sounds good. I'll see if I can get away…but is it ok if I bring someone? … Cool, thanks…Ok see you at tomorrow." Sakura hung up the phone. T.K and the band were getting together for some pizza and a movie at T.K's house. It was going to be fun. Sakura wanted to bring Sasuke.

"What's with the smile?" Tenten asked as Sakura reentered the room. She eyed the pinkette with suspicion…so did Sasuke.

"Oh nothing! Well let's get back to work!" she said with a lot of enthusiasm.

Hours of drawing the simple yet brilliant logo passed. It was now 2:45 pm.

"Ugh, I'm STARVING." Naruto complained while rubbing his stomach. Hinata smiled.

"Let's call it a day." She said while standing up to stretch. Everybody else nodded in approval. It was a long afternoon. They all had used their creativity as much as they could for one day.

"Hey how about we check out the new laser tag arena?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah!" Naruto loudly agreed. Suddenly his stomach growled LOUDLY. He blushed and rubbed his stomach. "Uh, but can we grab a bite to eat first?" Everybody laughed.

* * *

Sakura, Sasuke, Hinata, Naruto, Neji, and Tenten were currently waiting in line for the new laser tag arena. Kiba and Mizuki promised they would join up later. There was something about a meeting with the florist. But Shikamaru and Ino were on their way. They said that they wouldn't let their problems get in the way of having fun. And so everyone left it at that…sort of.

"I still can't believe they are coming." Hinata whined. "They really need to work it out. They're gonna have nothing but bitch-fits while they are here. It's fucking ridiculous."

"Hinata!" Tenten exclaimed. Everyone was shocked, especially Sakura. She's never heard Hinata cuss…EVER.

"Well! It's true! Remember last time something like this happened!" she replied. Tenten sighed.

"I guess your right… but jeez, watch you're language." she said. Hinata laughed and nodded. She didn't exactly _mean_ to cuss…it just slipped out. Sakura stood there confused.

"What happened last time?" she asked.

"Basically, they had a 'little' fight and then they tried breaking up and going out with us. Long story short, we had to lock them in a room for several hours cause they couldn't stop arguing and being extremely mean to each other. It was ruining everybody's day." Mizuki informed as she and Kiba arrived and got in line with them.

"Hey! You made it!" Hinata happily replied. Mizuki smiled and waved. She then went back to explaining to Sakura.

"So yeah, basically when they have a fight, it's hell on earth." she said. Sakura nodded. Fully understanding the situation. Shikamaru could be one thing and one thing only. A couple. If not, they just couldn't get along.

Soon the gang was closer to the front of the line. Shikamaru had arrived some 10 minutes after Mizuki and Kiba. Ino had yet to arrive.

"Hey guys!" Ino said as she came into the gang. She then glared at Shikamaru, who ignored her. Everybody gave their own way to say hello, everybody except Shikamaru. He just looked at her, but Ino ignored that just like he ignored her first.

"So Mizuki, how are the wedding plans going?" She asked while facing her back at Shikamaru, giving him the cold shoulder. To return the favor, Shikamaru started a conversation with Kiba. Not to his liking.

"Hey Kiba, what was the name of that girl you told me about? You know the nice looking black haired one that we saw while shopping for your tux at the mall." he asked. Ino then turned red in anger, but didn't turn around. Damn him! Trying to make her jealous! What a bastard!

"U-uhm the plans are going good! Everything is almost ready!" Mizuki replied back nervously. She then took a quick glance at Kiba, her eyes were narrowed. Kiba caught the glance and shrugged. Not knowing what was going on. He never saw nor knew a girl while 'nice looking black hair'.

"Oh wow." Sakura said under her breath. She was shocked on how they were to each other. "I guess it really is going to be hell on earth." Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"It's only going to get worse."

* * *

**CHAPTER SONGS:**

**BRIGHTER**


	5. Chapter V

Half an hour of constant childish bickering had passed. They entire gang was losing their minds! Why did Ino and Shikamaru have to do this to each other?

"I always thought Shikamaru was a laid back person. He always says stuff like 'how troublesome'. But right now it's like he's a totally different person!" Sakura exclaimed over to the girls. Ino was the only one not there. She was currently quarreling with Shikamaru, yet again. Tenten sighed.

"That just proves how much he loves her. He'll actually go against his usual attitude and fight with her." Sakura eyes widened a bit, not expecting that.

"Yeah, I know. Crazy right? But now I think we're gonna have to lock them in a room again. This is getting pathetic." Mizuki added. Everyone nodded in agreement, including the guys who were quietly sneaking away from Ino and Shikamaru's fight.

"Ok. So let's tell them, that instead of playing laser tag we're going to go to Tenten's place to 'play some foosball'…Sorry Sakura." Hinata informed. Sakura shrugged.

"It's ok. We can always come to play laser tag another time. They are more important. But won't they suspect something, since we're almost to the front of the line, and you've done this kind of thing before?" she asked, and it was a good point, but Naruto smiled widely, followed by everyone else (well, Neji and Sasuke SMIRKED).

"Watch this." Tenten said, almost laughing.

"HEY GUYS! C'MON! WE'RE GONNA PLAY SOME FOOSBALL AT TENTEN'S! THE LINE'S TAKING TOO LONG! LET'S GET OUTA HERE!" Naruto yelled. Instantly the Ino and Shikamaru looked up. They stopped fighting immediately and walked over to their friends.

"How troublesome." Shikamaru muttered.

"What the-?" Sakura said, completely shocked. It was as if they were never fighting, they just walked over casually. CASUALLY.

"Ok, let's go." Tenten said as she grabbed Neji's hand. Everyone nodded and walked out of line. They then started walking to Tenten's place. It wasn't far from the arena. Just a couple blocks away. Once there, Sakura was amazed. It was a nice apartment. Nice, roomy, and cozy.

"Tenten! Your place… is awesome!" She exclaimed. Tenten smiled.

"Well, since my parents died, I inherited everything, which wasn't much. I don't have any other family, so yeah. With my job, and my salary, I think I live quite comfortable. But it get's kind a lonely here." She replied. Sakura nodded.

"The foosball table is in that room. But first let's grab some refreshments. Hinata, Mizuki, Sakura, you wanna help me?" Tenten asked. The three girls nodded and walked to the direction of the kitchen.

"How are they gonna get Ino and Shikamaru by themselves?" Sakura whispered.

"You'll see, just listen." Hinata replied with a smile.

"3." Mizuki counted. "2…1…"

**"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"** Someone yelled. All the girls except Sakura laughed. Why did Ino scream? How did they get her in there with Shikamaru?

"Mission accomplished." Tenten said as she high fived Mizuki. Sakura raised an eyebrow and walked over to where the guys were. They were laughing and giving high fives to each other as well. Meanwhile, Ino was pounding the door.

**"LET US OUT NOW!"** she yelled. Suddenly a different voice was heard.

"Troublesome woman! They had this planned! Stop pounding the door!" yelled Shikamaru.

**"TROUBLESOME? WHY I OUTA-!"**

"OW! Hey! What was that for!"

**"FOR YOU CALLING ME TROUBLESOME!"**

"Well if you stop acting like it, then I stop calling you it!"

**"SHUT UP SHIKA! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO STARTED THIS ALL!"**

"I did not!"

**"YES YOU DID! YOU WERE FLIRTING WITH TEMARI! I **_**SAW**_** YOU!"**

"How many times do I have to tell you! She was telling me that she's not into me anymore and I don't have to worry about her interference!"

**"LIAR! THEN WHY WERE YOU LAUGHING AND HAVING A HAPPY-GO-LUCKY TIME WITH HER! HUH?"**

"Troublesome woman! She told a joke! It was funny! Then I told her that I was happy for her and that I was glad!"

A pause had taken place. Did Ino believe her pineapple haired boyfriend?

**"YEAH RIGHT! I KNOW YOU DIDN'T TELL HER THAT!"**

"Call her then! She will gladly tell you! She's got a boyfriend dammit!"

Another pause was taken.

"Can I have my phone?" Ino asked towards the door. The guys then looked over towards Sakura. She shrugged, and then looking behind her she saw that the girls were there. They were shaking her head.

"Nope." Mizuki said.

"Not gonna happen." Kiba told Ino.

**"WHY NOT? ARG!"** Ino yelled.

"Dammit! Give Ino her phone! She's gonna call Temari!" Shikamaru yelled. The guys laughed.

"We'll have one of the girls call her!" Naruto replied. He then walked over to Hinata.

"Hinata, mind calling Temari?" He asked her. Hinata smiled and shook her head. She pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

"Hello Gaara… Yes, this is Hinata. Uhm, may I speak with Temari? Something needs to be sorted out…Yeah, something like that…Okay, thanks..." Hinata waited about a minute before talking once more.

"Yes, hello Temari? This is Hinata. Can I ask you a couple questions?...Yes it is dealing with Ino and Shikamaru... Okay, great. Thanks, let me just put you on speaker." Hinata then clicked a button on her phone and held it out.

"Can you hear me?" she said.

"_Yes."_ Temari replied.

"Okay… Now where to start… Oh wait, hang on one second." Hinata walked over to the door. "Now Ino, you and Shikamaru are going to need to stay quiet in order to hear Temari. She is on speaker phone. I am going to ask her some questions. After they are answered, I will ask her any questions you have for her…okay?"

"Yes." Ino and Shikamaru said in unison. Then there was a pause.

"Ok, so Temari, is it true you have recently seen and talked to Shikamaru." asked Hinata.

"_Yes."_ Temari replied.

"And what were you two talking about?" Tenten asked.

"_I was telling him…that I was moving on and that I was going to get into his and Ino's relationship."_

"And why is it that you two were laughing? Was a joke told?" Mizuki asked.

"_Haha. Yes, a joke was told. We both found it rather funny."_

"May we hear the joke?" Mizuki asked again.

"_Okay. Well it went like this…_ _What do you do if a blonde throws a grenade at you?"_ Temari asked.

"I don't know; what?" Mizuki replied.

"_Pull the pin and throw it back!"_ Temari immediately started laughing. Giggles and chuckles were heard from the girls and guys. All but Ino and Naruto.

"I don't get it." Naruto said.

"Neither do I." Ino added. Then the room started busting up in laughter. Even Sasuke was laughing. It was surprising. Sakura noticed that he had a very…soft, heartfelt laugh.

"Ok. Now Temari, is it true you have a boyfriend?" Sakura asked breaking the bursts of laughter. Everyone quieted down. If she didn't have a boyfriend, it means Shikamaru lied. That would NOT be a good thing…

"_Who is this?"_ Gaara's sister replied. Sakura slapped her forehead.

"Sorry, I forgot we've never met." She said. "I'm Haruno Sakura. I'm-"

"_OH! Gaara was telling me about you! Yeah, you're the chick he's helping out along with the Uchiha's and Hyuuga's!"_ Temari exclaimed.

"Yeah, basically."

"Ok, now that you two know each other, I think it's time we get back to business." Tenten ordered. Sakura smiled and nodded.

"Right. So yeah, according to Shikamaru you have a boyfriend? Is this true?" she asked.

"_Well, it WAS true. We…kinda had a little disagreement the other day. So yeah."_

"Can I ask a totally off the topic question?" Hinata asked. Everyone shrugged.

"_I think I know what you're going to ask Hinata, so no. I'm not telling who he is or where I met him."_ Hinata pouted.

"Well then. Are there any other questions?" she asked. A pause was taken place. "No? Okay then. Bye Temari, thanks for everything!"

"_Bye. I hope this helps everything get sorted out."_ She replied before hanging up. Hinata closed her phone and looked at the closed door.

"Okay you two. Now the rest is up to you." Mizuki said. She then looked at the time. "Who's up for a movie?" Everybody nodded in agreement.

"Sounds good. What's playing right now?" Sakura asked.

"Oh! I've been wanting to see '21'! How about that?" said Ino from behind the door. Mizuki laughed.

"You two aren't going anywhere sweetie! You've got problems to fix and they are going to be fixed now." Everybody then started walking towards the door.

"We'll catch you two later! Don't worry, we won't forget about you!" Kiba yelled before closing the door.

**"WHAT? OH HELL NO! LET US OUT NOW! OR…LET ME OUT NOW! DAMMIT YOU GUYS!"** Ino yelled. But sadly no one replied."THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Shikamaru didn't answer right away. Instead he sighed angry.

"Don't you get it? This is just a misunderstanding. It's not my fault. It's yours. If you didn't jump to conclusions then this wouldn't have happened. You heard Temari. She said that she was going to leave me alone and let me be with you. Which is something I want. And if you just start **trusting** me, we won't have these problems."

Ino was crying by the end of Shikamaru's comeback. It was all his fault! How could she trust him? Men cannot be trusted!

"But how can I trust you! How do I know I can trust you?" she said with tears falling. Shikamaru began walking towards his crying beauty. He was ready to hold her, but he knew he couldn't. They couldn't move on until this was done with. This was going to be the last time she would doubt his trust.

"Because Ino. I love you and I would NEVER hurt you. I am not your last boyfriend. I am not going to cheat on you. I don't ever want to hurt you." He told her but Ino didn't look at him. She was too busy crying. Was Shikamaru serious? How could she trust him? Her last boyfriend…hurt her so much. How does she know that Shikamaru won't do the same? "I love you Ino. I want this relationship to work out. I want to be with you…but I need you to trust me. Because without trust in our relationship, how can we build it?"

"I'm sorry Shika! I just…I just don't want to lose you! I love you too. More than you'll ever know. If I lost you the way I lost…" she couldn't speak his name. But Shikamaru understood. He pulled her into a strong yet passionate hug. Holding her head to his chest as she cried.

"You don't have to worry about that…it's not going to happen." He said to her, making eye contact. "I promise." They both then kissed. Breaking it apart, Shikamaru smiled. "C'mon. Let's find a way out of here."

* * *

"Do you think they will sort things out?" Mizuki asked as she waited in line with everyone to buy tickets to see a movie.

"They love each other. Of course, things will be sorted out." Hinata replied. Mizuki nodded and went in the theater room followed by the rest of the gang.

"So is 'Across The Universe' really THAT great of a movie?" Sakura asked. She wasbeyond confused, this was her first time going to the movies. She didn't really know what to do, she was just…following. And holding hands with Sasuke. But no one really seemed to notice that.

"Well, not a lot of people appreciate The Beatles, but WE think it's a great movie." Kiba said. Everybody nodded in agreement. They weren't hardcore Beatle fans but they liked their music. Not all of it, but most of it.

"The Beatles?" Sakura doesn't know much bands…were _The Beatles_ a big hit? What genre were they? Why did they name themselves after a bug?

"Yes The Beatles! Who else?" Hinata replied. Sakura shrugged."Okay, well you'll like the movie. I promise. So let's go!" she then exclaimed.

_**NEARLY 2 HOURS LATER:**_

"I LOVE ACROSS THE UNIVERSE!" Sakura exclaimed as they left the movie theater. Sasuke smirked while everyone else laughed. He then went in and placed his arm around her waist. It was nearly ten. Everyone was ready to head home… but it seems Sasuke was the only one to remember two people.

"What about Ino and Shikamaru?" he asked while everyone else started to get ready to say their goodbye's.

"Oh that's right…" Mizuki muttered. EVERYONE forgot about them…now that's just sad.

"They are probably already made up by now." Naruto said in a nonchalant attitude as he gave Hinata a piggy-back ride.

"Oh we are." Said a voice from behind. Everybody turned around to see Shikamaru and Ino holding hands, smiling and content.

"How did you two get out?" Tenten practically yelled. THEY BETTER NOT HAVE BROKEN A DOOR! IF THEY DID, HELL WILL FREEZE OVER!

"Window." The newly resolved couple said in unison. OH HELL NO. Tenten was about to pound some heads. They better not have broken her window.

"We didn't break it, Tenten." Ino told her.

"Okay, well then I guess we can just go…" Hinata was going to mention 'home', but it just didn't seem right. She didn't want to go home yet.

"Play karaoke at my place!" Tenten finished.

"Yeah!" Naruto and Kiba exclaimed. They loved making fun of Neji when he sung. It sounded like a dying cat. And the only reason why he actually sang was because Tenten would harass him. She knew his weak points. Absolutely no one else did. So she would tell him, discreetly, that if he didn't do as she said, things wouldn't turn in his favor, EVER.

As the gang walked back to Tenten's place, Sasuke and Sakura stayed to the back of the pack, quietly enjoying each other's company. It was a nice night, and Sakura liked the feeling of Sasuke holding her hand, or having his arm around her waist, or cuddling with him during the movie. But what did it _mean_? Were they a couple? Sasuke hadn't exactly asked her, and well…he wasn't that easy to read most of the time. So, WHAT was going through that Uchiha mind of his?

"Sakura." She looked up at him, at the teenager who had done so much for him, the teenager she was falling in love with. She didn't deny it now. The feeling of him hug her, comfort her, hold her hand, it all felt right. And when he kissed her…butterflies soared.

"Yes?" she asked/replied. Was he going to ask her? Right _now_? _"Oh please do."_

"Do you want-" Sasuke then stopped talking and shook his head. "Never mind." Sakura half smiled and looked into the sky, she then noticed Sasuke pulled her closer to his body.

"_Maybe another time then."

* * *

_

Weeks had passed, since karaoke at Tenten's. And since then, Rumore had been officially signed and working on singles for their tour. Their _first _tour! They hadn't hit it big yet, hardly anyone knew about them. But there was a LOT of talk and a LOT of impatient possible-fans waiting for the tickets to their first show to start selling. Rumore's first show had to be GREAT. If not, they might as well cancel the tour and start off fresh or just cancel it all. But no one wanted that.

"How about a lunch break you guys?" She asked the rest of the band. They had been in the studio since 5 in the morning. Working on each song a few hours each.

"Sounds good to me." Dave said as he stretched. Sakura smiled. The guy was a walking vacuum. Much like Naruto. Together they could probably take down all the buffets in the city, if they wanted to.

"Hey Gaara, is it okay if we take a lunch break? We're getting hungry."

Outside the booth, Gaara sat in front of the HUGE control board. He was tampering with controls, fixing the guitar riffs from their previous recording.

"Go ahead guys. We'll resume practice at 4." The band nodded in agreement and exited the studio, completely famished. It was barely going to be noon. A four hour break sounded like _heaven_.

"What sounds good?" Chris asked. He didn't talk much. He was one hell of a bass player but Sakura noticed that he really only talked when it was just them or when he was with Amber, the girlfriend Sakura just found out about _yesterday_. She was nice, more than nice. Really caring and you could tell she really loves Chris. He loves her just as much back, maybe even more. But she was sick, diagnosed with leukemia just last year. She's been in and out of the hospital several times and will die if she doesn't get special treatment. So Chris works 2 jobs on top of being apart of Rumore. He's already said that all the money he makes with Rumore is going to her. He alone was going to pay for her treatment. He didn't care what he had to do, he would do it.

"How about some old fashion Konoha pizza at that pizza parlor down the street?"

In uptown Konoha, if you wanted good pizza, there was only one place you go to. And that was Akimichi's Pizza Parlor.

"Yo. Welcome to Akimichi's Pizza Parlor."

Sakura's jaw was about to drop. She didn't let it because that would be RUDE beyond all reason…but this guy was HUGE. Really huge! My gosh, it was insane.

"What are you staring at?" he rudely asked Sakura. She looked down at the table. That was horrible… How could she be any ruder?

"_Way to go Sakura, way to go…"_

"We will have a large pepperoni pizza and one jug of coke." TK told him. The boy rolled his eyes and walked away. Mumbling something about a 'dumbass pink haired chick'.

"Dude, do NOT stare at him, EVER." Dave whispered. Sakura nodded, completely ashamed causing Chris to laugh.

"Don't worry, it's no big deal. At least you didn't say something about it. Cause then he'd kick your ass. It didn't matter if you were a girl. He'd still do it."

"Who's is that though?" Sakura asked.

"That's Choji Akimichi. He's the son of the owner." TK replied. Oh crap…she just stared at the owner's son…oh crap crap crap! "Don't worry. Nothing's gonna happen. The Akimichi family has thick skin…er…not in THAT way, but aside from Choji, they never take staring the wrong way. All their family is big. That's just how they are."

"Here's your pizza and soda, damn it." Choji replied. Sakura could tell he was mad. She felt bad.

"I'm sorry!" she blurted out as he turned to leave. Choji turned around and looked at her. Completely shocked.

"W-what?" he asked. Sakura got out of the booth and bowed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare. It was very rude of me. I'm very sorry." She said once again. Choji stared at her, and then walked away, leaving Sakura without another word. The pinkette sighed and sat back down. Feeling _slightly_ better about apologizing, but it didn't seem like he accepted it.

"Well that was different." Dave said as he bit into a big slice of pizza.

"What was?" Sakura asked.

"No one's ever apologized to him before."

"Why?"

"Because he wasn't always that big." THIS certainly caught Sakura by surprise.

"Say what?"

"Yeah, he was actually normal size. Like my weight. But then he and his girlfriend broke up, something about cheating or something. I'm not sure. But once that happened, he just…gained weight."

"It was a nasty breakup." TK said. He paused. "And pretty complicated. The girl was pretty; she was their childhood friend and everything. It was her, him, and some other guy with a fruity hairstyle."

"Yup, then the girl got with the guy with the pineapple hair about a year later."

"What were their names again?" Dave asked.

Sakura bit into her pizza. Something was off. Three friends, a pretty girl, cheating and a guy with pineapple hair. How the hell did they know about Ino and Shikamaru? They don't know them… do they?

"Ino and Shikamaru?" she somewhat suggested. Dave clapped his hands and pointed to Sakura.

"That's it! Yamanaka Ino and Nara Shikamaru… wait, how do you know that?"

"How do you know their story?" she replied.

"The girl Choji cheated on Ino with was my cousin." Chris whispered. Sakura's jaw dropped.

"NUH UH!"Chris nodded.

"She lived here for about three years and moved elsewhere. I'm not sure where exactly but she's not in Konoha anymore."

"Did she _know_ that Choji had a girlfriend?" Sakura asked. Chris nodded.

"She didn't care. She liked him…but she likes a lot of guys. So she kept seeing him…and others."

"And then Ino found out about them." Sakura stated. Chris nodded once again.

"And then Choji found out about Ericka and Erick. One of the many other men and it became a big domino effect. Ericka couldn't take it anymore. She had to leave town, and that's exactly what she did."

Sakura was completely shocked. The boy that cheated on Ino was the son of the owner of the very pizza parlor they were sitting in. And that boy was cheated on by the girl that he cheated on Ino with. And that girl was cheating on that boy with another boy (and several others). So now, about a year later, the boy that cheated on Ino gained a monstrous amount of weight, the girl was caught cheating with several others and fled, and now Ino and Shikamaru were together. Wow…funny how things work out.

"Does Shikamaru still talk to Choji?" Sakura asked. Chris shrugged.

"I never met Shikamaru, or Ino, or Choji really. I just know who's who and what happened from what Ericka told me." Sakura nodded and left that matter at that. There was no need to stick her nose any further in business that didn't involve her.

"So how is…uhm… Naruto, coming along with the logo?" TK asked. Sakura smiled. Naruto offered to make several options for their selected…_shape_. He even offered to take be our official photographer. Sakura assured him it would happen the moment Gaara got the okay.

"He's working on it. He's got a lot of options. I'm going to call him later today and see when we can all get together and see what he's got." Sakura replied. Everyone nodded and so they just ate their pizza and chilled.

* * *

Sakura entered the Uchiha mansion completely EXHAUSTED. They had been in the studio for hours working on song after song, piece by piece. It was amazingly fun but tiring. Rumore wanted the songs _perfect_. No matter how long it took, but Gaara kept them on track. Making sure they didn't spent TOO much time on one song.

"Hey there stranger!" Mikoto exclaimed. Sakura smiled and waved.

"Hello Mikoto!" Sakura had gotten used to calling Mrs. Uchiha by her first name. It was weird at first, but after all the insists and everything she and her family are doing for her, Ryuu and Haruka, Sakura couldn't say no.

"How was the first day as a signed band?" Mikoto knew about everything. Sakura felt bad for not ever sitting down and talking to her about what's going on, but the woman just couldn't be found! She would just randomly pop up. What did she do on her free time? Does she work?

"It was great! Things are getting done pretty quickly but everything is sounding SO GOOD. Gaara thinks we can be a headliner in a matter of months!"

"Oh that's wonderful! You should go tell Sasuke about it. He's been…unusually quiet and crabby today. You should go find him and cheer him up a bit! He's around here somewhere..." Sakura nodded and ventured off to find the Uchiha boy she was currently falling for. She knew he liked her too, but the bloody boy just wouldn't ask her out! Sakura couldn't figure out why! They held hands, hugged, kissed (every once and a while, but that _every once and a while_ never failed to find a comfortable spot in Sakura's dreams and make her heart flutter.)

"Sasuke?" Sakura called out. She was near the indoor pool and heard splashing.

In the pool, Sasuke swam from one end to the other, completely focused. He didn't notice the pink haired girl sit on one of the chairs and watch. He was just swimming, and swimming, and swimming.

Sakura resisted the urge to call Sasuke. He was swimming, she didn't want to disturb. So she put her bag on the table next to her only to notice that there was something already on the table. A picture. The pinkette picked it up and looked at it.

It was old, maybe 8 years old. Sasuke looked no older than 9. He was with a boy who was a SPITTING IMAGE of Mr. Uchiha. This was Sasuke's older brother… He must be. Why else would they look so alike…but why was he NEVER TALKED ABOUT? Was there a family feud? Did he run away? And why was this picture HERE, of all places. Why here on the table, at the pool?

"Give. Me. That." Sasuke said. Sakura looked up. He was soaking wet, and PISSED. Why?

...

...

...

Sasuke held his hand out and Sakura slowly handed the picture to him. The pissed off Uchiha ripped it from her hands, grabbed his towel and walked away. But…why?

Two days had passed and Sakura was so…_confused. _Sasuke was STILL mad. Why did Sasuke get so mad? He completely blew her off when she tried to talk to him and apologize…but what did she do? He got mad because she looked at the picture? That's stupid! There was something else behind it. SOMETHING had happened. And she wanted to find out…but how? Who could she ask? Not Mrs. Uchiha, she wasn't home and besides, Sakura wouldn't want to ask about her other son. It might be a touchy subject.

Mr. Uchiha was just out of the question. She didn't even know how to talk to the man. He freaked her out.

Hinata? Now that was a possibility. But she was out right now. She was going out on a date with Naruto all day today. She was kind of bummed this morning. Really quiet. She looked sad…come to think of it…

Everybody was a bit quiet today. Well…The Uchiha's were naturally quiet. But Hinata? She was a bit more talkative. And Neji? He didn't talk much either but you could tell that something was bugging him…

Neji was out today too…so was Hanabi…WHY WAS SASUKE THE ONLY ONE HOME TODAY?

That's it. She had to find out what was going on. Two days of not talking to her for no reason was just stupid. It was freakin' time she figured out what was going on.

Sakura made her way to Sasuke's door. It was closed. She heard nothing. Was he sleeping? She knocked anyways.

"Sasuke?" she called out. The door opened suddenly and Sasuke stood there. Completely shirtless and wearing a pair of gray sweats.

"What?" he rudely asked. Sakura flinched at his tone. It was so…_mean_. Meaner than what it was when she first tried to apologize. But…this wouldn't pass unless they tried to fix it. She had to fix this. It wasn't right, him being mad at her for no reason just wasn't right.

"Why are you mad at me?" she abruptly asked. He just stared at her, not answering. Sakura rolled her eyes and pressed on. "It's not fair for me that you're mad at me and I don't even know why or what I did. You know you SHOULD tell me what I did so I know not to do it again." It wasn't until Sakura stared at Sasuke straight in the eye for a minute…she noticed something. His eyes were…watery. But of course, all eyes are watery but his eyes…they looked like he had been crying or had been fighting back tears.

"Sasuke?" she said, but in a much more caring voice. "Are you okay?"

**SLAM!**

The door to Sasuke's room was shut. Right then and there. Sakura stood in front of it, motionless.

"_WHAT THE HELL?"_

Sakura knocked again, no answer. She stood out there for a good 3 minutes. Trying to decide if she should attempt to open his door _without_ his permission. He might get mad…he might not care…he might get PISSED.

The pinkette sighed and reached for the knob and turned it. The door was unlocked and Sakura opened it slowly.

"Sasuke?" she called as she entered. The said boy was sitting on his bed, facing the window. His head was bowed down. Sakura called out his name again. He didn't move. She slowly began walking towards him and finally got to standing in front of him. He was looking at the same picture from the other day. But this time there were water droplets on the glass of the frame. _Tear droplets._

Sakura sat next to Sasuke and very slowly and cautiously took the picture from his hands. He didn't stop her. He just let her take it.

"This is your brother, isn't it?" she asked as she gently wiped the tears off. He nodded. "where… is he?" There was no answer. And just like that, all anger or annoyance or any negative feeling Sakura had was gone. There was only one answer to his no response. And that answer made so much sense… "How… did he… die?"

Sasuke looked up and out the window and rubbed his nose with his thumb. He wasn't crying…at least not right now.

"It was my fault." He then said.

"Don't say that." She replied. She put the picture down on the bed. Sasuke shook his head.

"It is." Sakura was confused. How could it be his fault? He didn't kill his brother…

Sasuke sensed her confusion and sighed. Talking about this…was something he didn't like. But she had a right to know. He lashed out on her for no reason and was too ashamed to apologize. He just ignored her…and called her annoying. But, even if he hadn't lashed out, he WANTED her to know. He wanted to share this with her. Why, he didn't know. But…it seemed right.

"I was seven," he said. "and I wanted to be better than him so badly… I would practice and practice and practice. Everyone would say I was good…for my age. They said I would be phenomenal by the time I was 15. They all said I'd be the best. But I felt like I wasn't good enough… He was still better, he would always be better… We would go every day, and he would always teach me new tricks. He always helped me… But one day…the news said no surfing due to a huge storm coming, and he said we weren't going… I didn't think the storm would be so big, I just thought it would rain and be a bit windy. I figured that I would get a lot of training done if I surfed in a storm. It would help with the dealing with all typed of waves… So when I got there, there were only two other guys and myself…we all surfed and had fun, but after a while that raining got really bad…strong winds started to blow and the waves were just too unpredictable…I thought the other two guys left when I realized I was by myself…and when I tried to go back to shore…the waves were just to strong and I couldn't beat them…finally a huge one hit me and I went under…I thought I was going to die…then I realized someone had gotten me and took me back above the water. I thought it was one of the guys but I was wrong…It was my brother…he had found out I went surfing and came to get me…we both tried to make our way back to shore, but the waves just kept taking us back and kept making us go deeper and deeper to the sea…then the biggest one hit us… the wave hit us to the sea floor near the cliff side…next thing I know, I'm in the hospital and I hear people telling my parents that they couldn't find Itachi's body…"

Sasuke put his head down once again and started crying. It was something that Sakura never saw before…and it was something that she never wanted to see again. Sasuke didn't deserve this burden upon his heart. He was a kind, caring, loving person underneath the cold, emotionless façade. Sakura could see that.

"It wasn't your fault." She said once again. The Uchiha refused to look at her, but Sakura knew that he knew she knew he was crying.

With still no response from Sasuke, Sakura knelt in front of him and held his hands.

"Sasuke," She said confidently. "It's not your fault… Everybody makes mistakes…Don't let your brother down. Don't let the life he gave you in place of his go to waste…You need to let this go…" Tears fell on the hands of both teenagers. They belonged to both.

Sakura placed her forehead against his."…just…let…it…go…"


	6. Chapter VI

"Ok! Let's get this show on the road!" an enthusiastic man exclaimed. He was Rumore's new employer, the president of Kazekage. He wasn't the ACTUAL president. That spot was respectfully held by Gaara's father. But this guy here, was the president to the music and entertainment department. He reported to Gaara if something went wrong. And that's something you really don't wanna do. And what you REALLY don't want to happen is have Gaara say he can't fix it and go to his father. Yes, that was like walking on lava, something you will NOT come out of completely unharmed.

Right now, he wanted to hear Rumore. They had been recording in the studio to put them online to sell. All the songs were just singles. The CD was not to come out for quite some time. It was too soon.

"Ok guys; let's give the president something to look forward to when he wakes up every morning." T.K. told to the band, he then looked at Sakura. "Do your best." He said to her. She nodded and before you knew it, the band started playing. Sakura waited for her cue with dancing. She then started to sing.

Outside the recording room, Sasuke and the president of the music and entertainment department watched and listened to Sakura's powerhouse vocals, TK's ripping guitar, Chris's kick-ass bass and Dave's sick beat drumming.

"These guys will do great." The president said. "Even in a studio they bring the energy of being on stage. That's amazing. The vocalist has a great set of pipes. Sakura, her name was?" Sasuke nodded in agreement to what the president had said and to what he had asked. It seemed Kazekage was a good choice. Though they were not as big as Kunoichi, they still were pretty big. They just gave more options and their client history showed so.

"When will they be able to look over their tour information?" Sasuke asked.

"After this magnificent song is done with; I will have them taken to my office and there it will begin. My VP will be helping you there. I apologize in advance for my absence but I have a very important meeting to attend. Until our next meeting, good day Mr. Uchiha." The elderly yet youthful man replied. Both guys bowed to each other and Sasuke was left to see the rest of the bands song. Once done, Sakura ran out to Sasuke.

"What did he say? Why did he leave?" she asked. She was a bit worried. She did not want to lose something that was right in their grasps. Sasuke smirked, sensing her worry.

"He's going to have you taken to an office to talk about the tour. He also apologizes for his absence; he says he has an important meeting to attend. Don't worry, nothing bad has happened." Sakura sighed in relief.

"Will you be there?" she asked Sasuke. He shrugged.

"Only if you want me there." He replied. Sakura smiled and nodded. Sasuke and Sakura had become closer, if that was even possible. Sasuke was now confident in his feelings with Sakura, as was she. But they still weren't official. Sasuke STILL hadn't popped the question. But Sakura didn't mind waiting. She knew it would happen sometime. He was probably waiting for the right moment.

Suddenly a man with no hair (aka bald) entered the recording studio.

"Hello, hello, hello!" he exclaimed enthusiastically. "This must be the oh-so-famous Rumore! I am Mr. I-am. But you can call me by my first name: Sam!" Sakura raised her eyebrow.

"Sam… I-am?" she questioned. Sam nodded.

"That's right! I am named after the famous character Sam I-am from the popular 'Green Eggs & Ham'!" Sakura couldn't help but smile. This guy was certainly a character. "Well let's get you guys to an office to look over the contract!" he said while walking out. Everyone followed.

"Now, where to start? There is so much time so little to say."Sam stopped. "Wait," he said. "switch that. There is so much to say and so little time!"

As everyone sat down, Sam pulled out papers from his briefcase.

"Alright! So are you guys ready to start your tour!" The papers were passed around and Sakura began reading. "Rumore, along with the company of Uchiha Sasuke and I, will be going to America! There we will hit Los Angeles, California, Las Vegas, Nevada, Huston, Texas, New York, New York, Boston, Massachusetts, and lastly Orlando, Florida." Sam informed.

"We're going to be out there for 6 months?" Dave yelled. Sam nodded and bounced around the room.

"It'll go by very fast. Only one performance or two performances a month per city. You'll have interviews and photo shoots and all that jazz. So it WILL go by very fast."

"When do we leave?" Sakura asked. It didn't say in the papers.

"Three days from now."

"SAY WHAT?"

"We have to get started soon! The sooner the better! We need to start selling and getting your name known! Rumore is going to be famous WORLD WIDE!"

* * *

"Congrats Sakura!" Ino, Tenten, and Hinata exclaimed. They all gave her a big hug. Sakura returned smiled.

"Thank you!" she replied. Sakura wanted to cry now. She was so happy it was too strong to hold in. Everyone was at the Uchiha's house celebrating Rumore's signing and first tour. It was all planned by Hinata and the girls. A lot of people were there. Family, friends, friends of friends, business people, and others. Sakura tried to socialize with everyone. It was a little difficult but she still had plenty of fun. Suddenly her phone buzzed as she went for a drink of punch. It was Sasuke; he had sent her a text message.

_Come to the balcony._ The text had said. Sakura shrugged, closed her phone and started to walk upstairs. As she did, thoughts poured in her head. Sakura hadn't really talked to her when they were at the party. He was around her for a bit, but suddenly disappeared…for some reason, Sakura couldn't help but feel her heart beat hard and fast.

"_Is what I think that's gonna happen gonna happen?"_ she confusingly asked herself. She then shook her head and found her way to the hall way where her room and Sasuke's room was.

"Oh crap…which balcony?" she said aloud. She had one and so did Sasuke. She took a guess and went in Sasuke's room for the first time. She saw him standing at his balcony. "You called?" she said to him as she joined him on the balcony looking at the night sky. Sasuke grunted in response, which made Sakura raise an eyebrow. She let it slide and leaned against the balcony rail and joined Sasuke in staring off in the sky.

"Sakura." He said while not looking at her.

"Hm?" she replied. Sasuke then quickly made eye contact as she turned to look at him.

"How do you feel about me?" he asked her. Sakura, confused at his question, blushed.

"W-what?" He then went behind her and hugged her by the waist. "Do you feel the same way I feel about you?" he asked. Sakura shuddered. She could feel his breath going down her neck. She then looked at him and made eye contact.

"Yes." She said with confidence in her voice. She really did or… That was the solid truth. Sasuke smiled. Sakura smiled back. In the many months they've known each other, this is the first time she saw this side of him. It was nice.

"Would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?" he then asked her.

"Yes." Sakura answered before kissing him.

* * *

"_Oh no I just keep on falling  
__(Back to the same old…)  
__And where's hope when misery comes crawling?  
__(Oh my way, Ay…)  
__With your faith you'll trigger a landslide  
__(victory)_

_To kill off this common sense of mind_  
_It takes acquired minds to taste, to taste, to taste this wine  
__You can't down it with your eyes  
__So we don't need the headlines  
__We don't need the headlines  
__We just want…  
__(We want the airwaves back, we want the airwaves back)_

_Everybody sing like it's the last song you will ever sing_  
_Tell me, tell me, do you feel the pressure now?  
__Everybody live like it's the last day you will ever see  
__Tell me, tell me, do you feel the pressure now?  
__Right now you're the only reason  
__(I'm not letting go, oh…)  
__And time out if everyone's worth pleasing  
__(Well ha-ha!)  
__You'll trigger a landslide  
__(Victory)  
__to kill off their finite state of mind_

_It takes acquired minds to taste, to taste, to taste this wine_  
_You can't down it with your eyes  
__So we don't need the headlines  
__No, we don't want your headlines  
__We just want…  
__(We want the airwaves back, we want the airwaves back)_

_Everybody sing like it's the last song you will ever sing_  
_Tell me, tell me, do you feel the pressure now?  
__Everybody live like it's the last day you will ever see  
__Tell me, tell me, do you feel the pressure now?  
__Everybody sing like it's the last song you will ever sing  
__Tell me, tell me, do you feel the pressure?  
__Alright, so you think you're ready?  
__Ok, then you say this with me  
__Go!_

_We were born for this_  
_We were born for this  
__Alright, so you think you're ready?  
__OK, then you say this with me  
__Go!_

_We were born for this_  
_We were born for this  
__We were born for this  
__We were born for this  
__We were born for  
__We were born for_

_Everybody sing like it's the last song you will ever sing_  
_Tell me, tell me, can you feel the pressure?  
__Everybody live like it's the last day you will ever see  
__Tell me, tell me, can you feel the pressure now?  
__Everybody sing like it's the last song you will ever sing  
__Tell me, tell me, can you feel the pressure?  
__Tell me, tell me, can you feel the pressure?_

_We were born for this  
__We were born for this  
__We were born for this"_

The crowd cheered loudly and Sakura bowed. Los Angeles was AMAZING. They were so energetic and Sakura loved that. The crowd responded very very well to all the music. This meant that all the other concerts would be HUGE.

"HELLO LOS ANGELES, HOW'S EVERYBODY DO'EEENN!" Sakura yelled into her mic. The audience screamed back and Sakura laugh. "Well I gotta tell ya, this is our first big concert. And I just wanna say that you guys ROCK! And I'm going to dedicate this song to every single one of you beautiful awesome people!" The crowd cheered even louder and Sakura's adrenaline run only doubled. "Hit it off Dave!" She yelled. Dave smiled and nodded. He rose his drumsticks and gave the band four ticks.

"1! 2! 3! 4!"

"_You're my number one,  
__You're my golden star,  
__I look at Earth from here,  
__Still you don't seem so far,  
_

_But you will never know,  
__(You will never know),  
__Oh you will never know,  
_

_Oh oh oh oh ooh oh oh,  
__Oh I would never admit that I,  
__Oh oh oh oh ooh oh oh,  
__Oh I would never admit that I,  
__Oh oh oh oh ooh oh oh,  
__Oh I would never admit that I,  
__Oh oh oh oh ooh oh oh,_

_Do you think of me?  
__Do you wonder?  
__If we could ever be, residing under,_

_Because we will never know,  
__(We will never know),  
__Until I see you show through,_

_Oh oh oh oh ooh oh oh,  
__Oh I would never admit that I,  
__Oh oh oh oh ooh oh oh,  
__Oh I would never admit that I,  
__Oh oh oh oh ooh oh oh,  
__Oh I would never admit that I,  
__Oh oh oh oh ooh oh oh,_

_I,  
__I wish I could tell you how I feel,  
__And show you what's inside of me is real,  
__Don't know what I'm waiting for,  
__Can't explain it anymore, yeah_

_Oh oh oh oh ooh oh oh,  
__Oh I would never admit that I,  
__Oh oh oh oh ooh oh oh,  
__Oh I would never admit that I,  
__Oh oh oh oh ooh oh oh,  
__Oh I would never admit that I,  
__Oh oh oh oh ooh oh oh,_

_I,  
__Oh oh oh oh ooh oh oh,  
__And I love,  
__Oh oh oh oh ooh oh oh,  
__I love,  
__Oh oh oh oh ooh oh oh,_

_I love you"_

Sakura smiled when she finished singing. This song was deeply influenced by Sasuke. She had written it on a late night when she couldn't figure out what was going between them. It drove her mad. But this song helped her cope through it. She managed to put all her feelings into it. So it meant something to her…but so did all the other songs. They all came from her. From her heart.

…

…

As Rumore performed on stage, Uchiha Sasuke stood at the side of the stage and watched. Sakura was so…energetic on stage. It was amazing. She was a born performer. He loved that. He loved her. He knew that for sure. They've only been together for 4 days, but he knew he loved her before that. He knew he felt something before when they first met. When he first saw her nearly punch the living shit out of Sai.

"YOU GUYS ARE SO RAD! SEE YOU IN 10 MINUTES!"

Sakura ran off stage and jumped in Sasuke's arms. She was laughing. "This is sooo amazing! I love this!" She exclaimed. Sasuke smirked and nodded.

"You're amazing." He told her before pecking her on the lips. Sakura smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I am." She told him. Sasuke rolled his eyes and Sakura laughed. The two went in for a kiss when…

"Sakura!" It was TK. Sakura looked over to the said boy, suddenly the crowd got extremely loud. He was pointing to the screen on stage. Sakura looked over and just about died.

One of the camera men left his camera on and left his post. Why, Sakura didn't know but what she did know was that the camera was pointing at her and Sasuke…

And she had her arms around his neck…

And he had his arm around her waist…

And the public didn't know they were together…

Oh shit.

Sakura sighed and placed her head on his chest. The crowd went berserk. She didn't know why…she was just kind of bummed that the camera caught them.

"There goes _our_ private lives." She said without picking up his head.

"Hn." Sasuke replied. He didn't let her go, he didn't even care that the camera was still on them and that the damned camera man didn't notice anything. "This is going to be tomorrow's headline." He told her. Sakura nodded.

"Yup."

* * *

Sure enough, the next day all LA was talking about was the famous Uchiha Sasuke and not-so-famous-yet Haruno Sakura.

Sakura wasn't all enjoying the sudden attention. She found it a bit humorous, along with the band, but she didn't want all the focus on her and Sasuke's relationship.

"So here we are with Haruno Sakura, the singer to the young band Rumore. Now Sakura, rumor has it that you are dating Konoha's Cold Hearted. What do you say to this?"

The audience waited to see Sakura's response. Konoha was probably going mad right now…her friends at home were probably going mad right now. They hadn't known. No one did.

"Well, uh. I would have to say that it's true. Sasuke and I started dating 5 days ago." The reporter nodded and flipped to her next page.

Right now, Rumore was inside an MTV studio. It was set up like a living room. Sakura sat on the couch right in between TK and Chris. Dave was sitting on the floor…for whatever reason.

"Are you scared at all? Uchiha Sasuke has been the heart throb of girls, teenagers, and women since he was 8. Do you worry that anything will happen to you?" Sakura shook her head.

"No, actually…I mean…people wouldn't try anything on me, would they?" There was no answer and this made Sakura feel a bit uneasy… "Uh…so how about we talk about something else? I mean, we're here to talk about our band. Not my relationship with Sasuke." The reporter, shocked at first, nodded and turned her attention to TK.

"So TK, how does it feel to have a singer like Sakura in the group?"

"It's cool, cause uh well; we all get along so well and let's face it. Without her we wouldn't have made it big." He replied. Chris and Dave nodded in agreement and Sakura smiled.

"And Sakura, how does it feel to know that 8-9 months ago you were on the streets and now you are quickly becoming one of the most talented singers?

"It feels like a dream come true. I mean these guys are my friends, my family, and I have all my friends out at home and I'd like to say that they are all awesome and I love them. But overall, all this that's happened, is just a dream come true." Sakura replied happily. The interviewer nodded and went onto the next question. She laughed.

"I know this isn't a subject you don't like to talk about but let's talk about Uchiha Sasuke for a small minute. How does it feel to be dating him? How does it feel to know that almost every single girl out there is quote unquote 'in love' with him?" she asked. Sakura thought about it for a minute. To answer this or not? She likes her privacy…but a lot of people will be harassing her if she didn't answer these questions…

"Uhm. Well… Sasuke is…well he's Sasuke. Uhm, there's not really much to say. I mean we really love each other and well yeah." She said. The interviewer smiled and turned to the camera.

"Well girls, you heard it! Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura are holding strong and are in love." She turned to the band. "One last question." She informed. Everyone nodded. "Does Rumore have anything to say to those talented unknown underground bands that are out there?" The band looked at T.K. who looked at Sakura to answer.

"Well uh, we would like to say that somehow, everything's gonna fall right into place and that you gotta hold on to your patience even though it's probably wearing thin. And even if you don't make it big, just have fun; make your memories worth lasting forever." She said. The interviewer turned back to the camera.

"And there you have it MTV. This is Roxanne Stewart, coming to you live from Los Angeles, California."

"Aaaand we're out." The camera man said.

"_somehow, everything's gonna fall right into place…hmmm. hold onto patience, even though it's wearing thin…"_

"Uh, hey guys, I'll catch up to you later." TK randomly said before running off. Everyone stared at him.

"Where do you think he's going?" Chris asked. Sakura and Dave shrugged.

"When you gotta go, you gotta go." Dave replied. Sakura laughed and shook her head. She knows what happened to him. She's experienced it many times.

"No. He's just been inspired."


	7. Chapter VII

To be in the city of Los Angeles as a headlining band is one experience Sakura will never forget. For one, paparazzi were following her and the band like crazy. For two, the paparazzi were following her and Sasuke like crazy. But that didn't stop the fun and experience everyone was getting.

Just three weeks ago, Rumore, an unknown band headlining their own tour sponsored by one of the best rock enterprises, entered Los Angeles. They had non-stop interviews, photo shoots, acoustic sessions, and meet and greets with the new fans.

It was explained to TK, Dave, Chris and Sakura that the last week of every month was their "free time". They could choose to do whatever they want. And Sakura knew exactly what she wanted…

"Hello Sakura! Sasuke!"

"Hey you two!"

"I've missed you Sakura!"

"Sakura! ...why the hell didn't you tell me about you and Sasuke?"

"SAKURA-CHAN! WHEN DID YOU AND THE TEME START GOING OUT? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US! TEME! I KNEW YOU LIKED HER!"

That's right. The gang flew in all the way from Konoha. She missed her best friends. It was just a shame that she couldn't bring Ryuu and Haruka. They can't fly alone without an adult… a parent. Sakura may have been looking after them for the past few months, but she still wasn't their legal guardian. She didn't even think that the Konoha government knew about them.

Sakura involuntarily sighed. She needed to work on getting custody of them. But she wasn't even 18 yet… She needed a couple more months… and what if they didn't let her be guardian. She would be crushed.

"Something wrong?" Sasuke asked his pink haired girlfriend. The gang was walking to the baggage area. It was loud in the airport so there was no need to whisper.

"Nothing's wrong." Sakura replied while she smiled. She leaned to Sasuke and he placed his arm around her waist and rested his hand on her hip.

The Uchiha boy knew something was wrong. Something was bugging Sakura. But he let it go, making a mental note to ask again later when they were alone.

* * *

"What the heck do you wear to a club?" Sakura asked as she, Tenten, Mizuki, Ino and Hinata shopped for clothes. That was tonight's plans. Going to a club and dancing like there was no tomorrow! Of course, there would be no alcohol because after all, no one was 21 and that was the USA's legal age to start drinking. (Which Sakura found a bit weird but it didn't bother her. She didn't drink anyways.)

"You want to wear something that says you're hot and looking for some fun, but you don't want to look like a slut." Ino replied as she looked at a purple halter top. Sakura gave a confused look.

"Translation please?" she asked everyone else.

"Just wear something nice that won't make you look older than what you are and that won't make you look like you're asking for some bow chicka bow wow." Tenten told her. Sakura laughed as did the rest of the girls.

"Nice use of words." Said Hinata. She then pulled out white vintage shirt that said 'Peace' in black. It also had a very colorful design as a background.

"Oh my god, that's too cute Hinata! You HAVE to get it!" exclaimed Mizuki. Hinata looked at it and placed it to herself.

"You don't think it's too revealing? Naruto doesn't like really revealing clothes on me…and neither do I."

"Well, it's a little see-through but you can fix that by wearing a white or black undershirt. Then you can just wear it and a pair of jeans with those new heels you got the other day." Ino replied. Hinata nodded and Sakura continued to look around. She still couldn't find anything she liked. Her friends sensed that.

"What's wrong Sakura? Don't like anything?" Mizuki asked. Sakura shrugged.

"I can't seem to find anything that's, well, ME."

"Why don't you do what I do when I can't find something?" Ino replied. Sakura looked at Ino with a confused face. What did she do?

"What's that?" she replied. Ino smiled, she then pulled out a long sleeve black and white striped shirt. It instantly caught Sakura attention.

"Buy it, change it, wear it." She simply said while tossing the shirt to Sakura. Sakura smiled. She was used to changing and making things due to living on the streets. Except out there, you didn't get to choose what you changed.

"Alright then! Since everybody has what they want, let's go pay and get outa here!" Tenten exclaimed while throwing a fist in the air and running to the cashier.

"So Sakura, how come you didn't tell anyone about you and Sasuke?" Hinata asked. Sakura smiled, she knew they would ask sooner or later.

"I didn't really get a chance. He asked only a couple days before we took off for the tour and those couple days were so hectic. Trying to gather everything together was time consuming. Next thing I know, we're on a plane to LA with the boyfriend no one knew I had."

"Well, no offense. But it's not like we didn't see it coming." Mizuki said before laughing. "He fell in love with you the moment he saw you."

Sakura smiled. She wasn't too sure about that. All she knew was that she and Sasuke had liked each other for a while before finally making it official.

"Will you chicks hurry up? I already paid for my stuff! Come pay for yours!"

Once back in her temporary pent house, Sakura pulled out the shirt she just recently bought and pulled out an old red tank top.

"Hmm. What to do, what to do?" she asked herself.

"What to do what?" someone asked from behind. Sakura smiled but continued to stare at her two shirts. Sasuke came and stood next to her. Staring at the shirts with her. "Why are we staring at your shirts?"

"I'm going to change this." She told him. "I just don't know what to do." Sasuke then grabbed the scissors from Sakura and cut one sleeve from the black and white t-shirt.

"Hey what the hell are you-" Sasuke shrugged and placed the scissors back in Sakura's hands and walked away. "What the hell! You just ruined…" Sakura looked at the shirts. She cut the other sleeve off and tossed to torso part on the floor. "That's perfect!"

**(A/N: Picture of Sakura's custom top on profile under the pictures. It is just a picture edited from a different picture. I just made the shirt and fixed the hair. It took me a long time to edit that damn thing but I couldn't resist making it for Sakura!)**

Time passed and before you knew it Sakura was in her 'new' top, a black skirt and some black boots.

"Sakura are you ready? It's eight o'clock!" someone yelled from outside her room. The gang was waiting for her in the living room of the pent house.

"Just about!" Sakura replied as she grabbed a couple necklaces and quickly brushed her hair."I'm ready! Just hang on one sec!" she took one last look at herself in the mirror. Happy with her appearance she went out her room, ready to have a fun night.

"Wow Sakura! You look hot!" Ino exlaimed. Shikamaru then sighed.

"Troublesome woman, don't yell." He said to her before kissing her cheek. Ino blushed and shut up. Sakura went next to Sasuke. He was staring at her like she was a goddess. She laughed and pecked him on the lips.

"Okay! Let's go!" Hinata yelled while pointing to the door. She then hopped on Naturo's back and they walked out. Piggy back ride and all. **(A/N: yeah Hinata's piggy back ride from Naruto is a common thing, so yeah. You will be seeing it a lot)**

"Okay so…there is most likely going to be paparazzi. Just letting you guys know this now. But once we get in the club, we should be fine. They can't follow us in there. So until that time, don't say anything or do anything retarded. These guys are worse than in Konoha. True vultures." Sakura informed her friends. It was true. The paparazzi in LA so 100x worse than Konoha's. Konoha's respected boundaries… to a certain limit, but these guys here… they didn't respect _anything_.

"They won't be a problem." Sasuke suddenly said. His girlfriend looked at him, a little confused. What was she missing here?

"We all called in as anonymous and said that Rumore was leaving LA early and that Uchiha Sasuke wouldn't be going with them." Hinata said as she winked. "It seems that you and my dear cousin are rumored to break up already."

"So the paparazzos are on their way to LAX. Trying to find Rumore and they are also trying to find mister Sasuke." Mizuki added.

* * *

After about an hour dancing in the club the guys called quits. For one, they weren't much of dancers. Though Sakura opposed...strongly. Sasuke was very good on the dance floor. It took her by surprise. But there was a basketball game on. A big one apparently. And the guys were itching to watch it.

"We're just going to be watching the basketball game at the sports bar." Neji assured Tenten. She nodded.

"We'll just be here, dancing." She replied. Neji nodded and all the guys walked away.

"Party poopers!" Ino yelled over the music. All the girls laughed and formed their own dancing circle."By the way Sakura, I love your top." Sakura smiled.

"Thanks!" she replied.

...

...

Over at the sports bar, all the guys watched the b-ball game and talked. The game wasn't too special. They were expecting something a little more exciting.

"You know Sasuke, this is the happiest we've ever seen you. I assume everything between you and Sakura is going great." Shikamaru said.

"Hn." The Uchiha replied. "You and Ino seem to be doing perfectly fine as well." He added. Shikamaru nodded.

"It's much better, she finally calmed down with all the paranoia."

"So Kiba, how's the big wedding coming along?" Naruto asked.

"Perfect. We're just deciding on a date, once that's chosen, it's all done." Kiba replied happily. Suddenly Sasuke's cell phone buzzed. He had just received a text message. But who would be texting him? Everyone was hanging out in the same place.

Suddenly before he could even look at the text message, his phone rang. As did Neji's, Kiba's and Shikamaru's.

"_What the hell?"_ he thought. "Hello?" he answered.

"_Is Hinata there with you guys?"_

"No?"

"_Oh my god Sasuke, come here quick! We can't find Hinata! She went to the bathroom 20 minutes ago! We went to the restrooms! She's not there! We can't find her!"_

"Where are you?"

"_Right outside the restrooms, to the left."_

"We'll be right there."

As he hung up, so did the other guys. Naruto was the only one who had no idea what was going on.

"What?" he asked as they all stared at him.

"They lost Hinata."

…

…

…

"**WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY LOST HER?"** Naruto yelled as he jumped up. The rest of the guys jumped up with him, making sure he didn't go ballistic. The worse way you can piss off Naruto is by something happening to the people he loves. You never want to see Naruto pissed off due to something happening to someone close to him.

"She went to the bathroom around 20 minutes ago and she has yet to come back. They went to go check on her and she wasn't there. They can't find her. The girls are waiting for us at the bathrooms."

Suddenly Naruto took off to the dance floor, leaving the boys to chase after him.

"WHERE'S HINATA?" Naruto yelled as he saw the girls.

"We can't find her Naruto! She's not answering her cell phone! She's not here! We looked through the dance floors, the bar areas, everywhere!"

The rest of the guys caught up and Sasuke put his hand on his best friend shoulder.

"Stay calm. We'll find her. Do not lose your temper. You are a visitor to this country. Don't forget that."

Naruto took a deep frustrated breath and pushed Sasuke's hand off his shoulder.

"Where was the last time you saw her?" he asked attempting to contain his anger and worry. Thankfully he wasn't failing with flying colors.

"She went to the restroom while we were dancing about 25 minutes ago. She said that she'd be fine going alone when we offered to go with her. When we insisted, she insisted. So we kind of just let her be." Sakura said. She bit her lip, attempting not to cry. "I'm sorry Naruto. We should have gone with her." Sasuke hugged Sakura and she held him tight. Naruto let out a heavy sigh.

"This isn't anybody's fault. There's no one to blame. But let's just find Hinata."

"We'll split off in four groups. Ino, Kiba, and Mizuki go look on the top dancing floor. Naruto and I will go look in the bottom dancing floor. Sasuke and Sakura take the bar area. Neji and Tenten, take the third dancing-" "**I SAID LET ME GO!**"

"That's sounded like Hinata!"

Near the restrooms was the back door. It led to the back of the club.

"**GET OFF OF ME!"**

"HINATA!" Naruto ran to the door with the gang following him.

**SLAM!**

"GET THE HELL OFF OF HER!"

"NARUTO!"

"WHO THE HELL ARE Y-"

Naruto popped the guy in the face and landed on the floor. Hinata was slumped against the wall, crying. Immediately the girls went to Hinata as the guys went to Naruto. He continued to punch the guy in the face over and over and over.

"Naruto, he's had enough!" Shikamaru yelled as he tried to pull Naruto off. The guy he was punching didn't look human anymore. His whole face was covered in blood. "Naruto, you're going to kill him! Enough!"

It took Shikamaru and Kiba to pull off Naruto. But it took all 4 guys to hold Naruto back.

"We need to leave, NOW!" Kiba ordered. The girls nodded and rushed Hinata out of the club. The guys followed shortly after, with Naruto fighting back.

"I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!" he yelled. They threw Naruto against one of the two rental cars that they drove to the club. Naruto tried running back into the club. The guys only threw him back. It was a repeated a couple more times. Finally Sasuke punched Naruto in the jaw.

"Calm down." he told him. Naruto went to punch Sasuke back but the Uchiha caught the flying fist and twisted Naruto's arm. He put Naruto in a lock and slammed him to the car. Shikamaru, Neji, and Kiba just let him be. Sasuke was the only one who would be able to calm Naruto down.

"LET GO OF ME!"

"You have to remember that we are NOT citizens of this country. And that we could get in a hell of a lot more trouble if there is any trouble. That guy in there got his beating. Now we need to get the hell out of here. We need to take Hinata to a hospital. This WILL piss you off, this will piss everyone off. But we need to have her looked at to see if she got hurt or if that guy in there got what he wanted. So get a hold of yourself and go to your girlfriend because she needs YOU right now."

Once done, Sasuke let go of Naruto. The normally hyperactive blonde lightly but sternly punched the top of the car and made his way to Hinata, who was sitting in the back seat of the other car. She was being comforted by the girls. But the girls drew away once Naruto came. Hinata hugged Naruto tightly and cried in his chest. Naruto hugged her back just as tight or maybe a bit tighter. It all came to him. His actions weren't responsible. He was just _so mad_. He couldn't control himself. Someone hurt the love of his life and he wanted to hurt them back ten times worse. But that wasn't the right thing to do and Naruto showed everyone a dark side that he never liked showing.

"We need to get you to a hospital." Naruto whispered to her. Hinata shook her head in his chest as she cried. Naruto sighed. "Hinata…we need to make sure you're not hurt. Please, let us take you to the hospital. If you're not okay, then I won't be able to live with myself."

After what seemed like years later, Hinata nodded but she refused to let go of Naruto. He turned his head to the rest of the gang, who were waiting and watching.

"Let's take her to the hospital."

Suddenly the gang turned to Sasuke.

"Sasuke, take Sakura to the hotel." Shikamaru told him. Sakura was caught by surprise.

"Wait, what? No. I'm coming along!"

Mizuki shook her head.

"You can't sweetie. If paparazzi found you with us in the hospital, it'll get to Kazekage. Bad publicity is something you guys can't afford right now. Rumore still has the whole tour to come and who knows what this can do to your guy's image."

Sakura shook her head.

"No! Hinata is much more important than bad publicity! I want to be there! Kazekage will understand! I don't want to go to the hotel knowing that my friend is in the hospital! I want to be there with you guys!"

Sasuke took hold of Sakura's hand.

"They're right, Sakura. We need to go to the hotel."

"We'll keep you informed via cell phone. Don't worry. There's not one thing you won't know." Mizuki replied. Kiba nodded.

"Ino and I will grab a cab to our hotel. There's not enough room for us to go to the hospital." Shikamaru informed.

"And keep us informed too." Ino added. Sakura still wanted to testify.

"But-" Sasuke slowly began to pull her away and put her in the front seat of the car while Ino and Shikamaru got a cab, and Kiba, Mizuki, Naruto and Hinata made their way to the hospital.


	8. Chapter VIII

It was nearly three in the morning and Sakura couldn't sleep. She couldn't stop worrying about Hinata. Yes, they did keep her and Sasuke informed and the doctor said that nothing happened to her (thank god) but she was still pretty badly shaken up. Naruto said she was having a hard time letting go of him when he tried to sit her down…

And Naruto… Sakura had never seen Naruto become that ballistic. It was scary. She's _never_ seen anyone's eyes that angry and unstable.

Sakura got up from her bed and walked out to the living room of her condo-like hotel room. She saw Sasuke sitting on the couch, watching tv. He looked at her as she entered the room.

"Can't sleep?" he asked. She nodded and he nodded back. "Hn." The pinkette guessed that he couldn't sleep either.

"Sasuke?" she called as she went to sit next to him. The Uchiha boy put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. "Has Naruto…always had that kind of temper?"

Sasuke didn't reply right away. He seemed to be…thinking on how he was going to tell his girlfriend about his best friend.

"Naruto…started having that kind of tempers when he was about ten." He said. Sakura looked at him.

"He told you that or…?"

"He and I have been friends since we were born… Our moms were good friends."

"What caused his… _temper_? What happened when he was ten?"

Sasuke sighed and changed the channel on the tv. The news can only satisfy your boredom for so long. And then something clicked in Sakura's mind. Sasuke had just said that his mom and Naruto's mom _were_ good friends.

"Naruto and his parents were in a car accident. His parents died and Naruto just barely survived. But he suffered severe head trauma… it was a miracle he survived. His face…it was practically smashed in. I thought I had lost my best friend and I'm glad as hell that I didn't. But, once he found out that his parents were gone, Naruto was different. He would have sporadic temper tantrums and headaches. It was like a monster inside him was unleashed and its objective was to destroy everything. Naruto was living with us for a couple years. My parents had temporary custody until his godfather, who just so happened to be a psychologist, could move over to Konoha from some place. He felt that changing environments might be too much for him." Sasuke paused and changed the channel again. "After Naruto's godfather came, Naruto's sporadic behavior started to die down. Slowly but surely. He was pretty good for a couple years. But then Naruto got in a fight with some kids who were saying some things about his parents and about Naruto being a fucked up mental and Hinata being a whore and that's when we all noticed it… Naruto's sporadic behavior comes from losing his parents and being afraid to lose anyone else or see someone he cares for get hurt."

Sakura stared at Sasuke as he flipped the channel again. So that's how it came. Naruto's temper… That's the whole story behind it.

"Wow…" Sakura let out. Sasuke nodded.

* * *

"Sakura! Wake up! Aw c'mon! I have something to show you!"

Sakura slowly opened her eyes. She was sleeping on the couch. Where was Sasuke? She fell asleep on him, she knew that. But… where'd he go?

"Sakura! Wake up! It's amazing! You have to see it!" Sakura jumped up. Who the HELL was at the door?

"WAKE UP, WILL YOU? OPEN THE DOOR! WA-… oh, hey Sasuke!"

Suddenly the door opened and Sasuke walked in, holding two coffees from Starbucks and a bag (that was most likely holding breakfast). Behind Sasuke was TK. He looked restless and was holding a several pieces of paper.

"TK?" Sakura asked. "What're you doing here?"

The said boy smiled widely and showed Sakura the paper in his hands. There were several scribbles and doodles and scratched out words. But Sakura smiled, knowing EXACTLY what it was.

"You wrote a song…" she said while looking through them, skimming. "And a pretty damn good one." She added. TK smiled and gave a thumbs up.

"It took a while but I finally got it down. I think it'll be perfect. It's all about vocals. You're really going to practice it."

Sakura looked at TK, with a raised eyebrow.

"You already have the melody laid out, don't you?" she asked. TK nodded and grabbed his guitar, which was leaning against the wall in the hallway just outside the condo.

"Mind if I show you?" he asked. Sakura shook her head and continued to read the lyrics.

"Go for it." She told him. Immediately TK began strumming his guitar and Sakura moved to the beat. Suddenly he stopped and looked at Sakura.

"This is where you sing the first line." The pink haired teen laughed.

"_Somehow everything's gonna fall right into place, if we only had a way to make it all fall faster everyday. If only time flew like a dove, well God, make it fly faster than I'm falling in love."_

TK threw his hands in the air.

"THAT WAS PERFECT!" he yelled. Sakura smiled and looked at her arms.

"I got goosebumps." TK laughed and began jumping around like a kid in a candy shop.

"This is so great! This is so awesome! That was phenomenal! We need to get Chris and Dave on this ASAP."

Sakura nodded in agreement. "Let's meet up somewhere later today. Call me later and let me know after you talk to Dave and Chris." She told him. The enthusiastic brown eyed guy nodded and left the apartment in a zip. Sakura closed the door and sighed. She wasn't in the mood for music business… she was worried about Hinata.

"Naruto called earlier." Sakura turned around and looked at her boyfriend.

"AND?" she asked eagerly. The Uchiha held out a chair for her at the table in the kitchen. Sakura didn't move. "Sasuke," she said in a worried tone. "How is Hinata?"

"Sit." He told her. The pinkette gave in and went to sit down. She studied her boyfriend though. To a point where it was as if he was a test subject. "Stop that." He told her. She looked down and sighed. A coffee and croissant appeared in front of her. She didn't touch it. "I won't tell her anything if you don't eat anything." With that said, Sakura deeply sighed again and took a bite of her croissant.

She didn't realize how hungry she was. But she was _starving_. She hadn't eaten anything since lunch of yesterday.

"Hinata's okay." Sasuke calmly said. Sakura sighed again, but this time in relief… and it was then when she broke down. She put her head on the table and cried quietly. But the Uchiha expected this and immediately picked her up from her chair, walked to the couch and sat her on his lap. He held her as she cried into his chest.

"It's okay, Sakura. She's okay." He whispered to her. Sakura shook her head.

"It w-wouldn't have h-hap-p-pened if…if…" she couldn't come up with an answer. But Sakura KNEW it was her fault. It WASN'T okay. It was all her fault. It wouldn't have happened to Hinata if…if…just if!

"It's not your fault. It was a freak situation that could have happened to anybody. Let's just be glad that nothing did happen. That Hinata is safe now." His words seemed to calm her and soon Sakura was breathing peacefully in his chest. Was she asleep? He hoped not. They were supposed to go meet up with the gang after breakfast and play some laser tag. "Sakura." He called. She didn't move. "Wake up Sakura. We're supposed to leave for somewhere in 45 minutes."

With that said, the lead singer jumped up in a panic.

"45 MINUTES? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BE READY IN 45 MINUTES! LOOK AT ME SASUKE! I'M A MESS!"

Sasuke shrugged and smirked. "Go take a quick shower, throw on some clothes, and put on your shoes. How can that not be done in 45 minutes?"

"You are such a boy! What am I supposed to wear?"

"Something you can move in because we're playing laser tag." Sakura kind of just stopped in her little rant and got unnaturally calm.

"They want to play laser tag…after what happened?" she asked. Sasuke stood up and hugged her.

"They're moving on and letting it go Sakura. It may have just happened yesterday but no one wants to dwell on it." Sakura hugged her boyfriend back and inhaled his scent. "Now," he told her. "Can you go get ready? You have 40 minutes left."

* * *

After rushing for her life to get ready, Sasuke and Sakura arrived at LA's biggest laser tag arena. The rest of the gang was there, including TK, Dave, Chris and Amber.

"Amber! When did you get here!" Sakura asked as she hugged the girl. Amber smiled.

"Just this morning. Chris flew me out."

Amber looked a little tired, maybe it was jet lag? But she also looked a bit pale… Her sickness must have been acting up…

"HEYYYYY!" yelled a very enthusiastic hyperactive blond. Sakura smiled and rolled her eyes. "Now that we are all caught up! Let's go play some laser tag!"

"Shut up will you! You don't have to be so damn loud!"

"Troublesome woman. You're loud too."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY SHIKA!"

"LET'S GO PLAY SOME LASER TAAAAAAGGGG!"

"SHUT UP!"

"So what are the teams?" Mizuki asked, completely ending the yelling session. She was standing next to Kiba, holding his hand.

"Girls versus boys?" Tenten suggested. All the girls threw their fists in the air.

"GIRL POWER!" they yelled. Kiba broke up their pow-wow and the boys lined up.

"You really think you can beat us boys? At laser tag? A game that has been DOMINATED by boys since the beginning of time?" he asked. The guys nodded in agreement. Amen Kiba, amen.

Tenten raised her one eyebrow.

"_Excuse me?_ Was that a _CHALLENGE_?"

"What's the challenge babe? You know we kill at laser tag." Neji replied. Ino stood forward.

"Oh. No. You. Didn't." She said. "Do you not remember our last game of paintball? _HMMM?_ We BEAT you guys."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"That's I was tired, troublesome woman. Let's not forget the game we had when I wasn't tired. You guys were killed."

Sakura looked at Hinata as all this happened.

"Is this _normal_?" she asked. Hinata smiled and nodded.

"Yes. Though, I am kind of curious. We have five more people than usual and Sasuke's playing this time… he hasn't played since…" she paused and shook her head. "Well, he hasn't played in a long time." Sakura looked at Hinata. She looked perfectly **normal**. Major kudos to her… Sakura didn't think she'd be able to bounce back that fast…

"Soooo…" Sakura said, but no one listened. Everyone was arguing. This annoyed her. Seriously, she wanted to play, not just watch them argue. **"HEY!"** she yelled. They all stopped.

"What?"

"Let's split the teams, shall we? I wanna play!"

* * *

Team One:

Ino

Mizuki

Tenten

Sakura

Hinata

Team Two:

Sasuke

Neji

Shikamaru

Naruto

Kiba

"Are you SURE you guys don't want to play?" Sakura asked as everyone geared up. TK, Dave, Chris and Amber all nodded.

"For the thousandths time Sakura: YES, WE ARE SURE." Dave replied. He and TK put on headsets. "I'll be the eagle's eye for the guys and TK's gonna be the eagle's eye for the girls."

Sakura still wasn't sure about the job of an eagle's eye. It seemed so _boring_. From her understanding, one member from each team was to stay out of the game. Each was to sit in a room full of multiple screens that had feeds from cameras. An eagle eye had to help their teammates in hot spots, help them find their enemy, and warn their teammates if an enemy was around them.

Chris and Amber decided to sit laser tag out in general. Amber was suffering from serious jet lag and was just tired in general. But Sakura couldn't ignore her sickly paleness. Yes, she was naturally pale skin much like herself but Amber's complexion was just so much more…_paler_. Was she losing to her sickness? Sakura prayed not. And Amber just looked _so tired_. Why had Chris flown her out here? Amber did NOT look in the best conditions.

"She just got out of the hospital yesterday… She's always wanted to see LA." TK whispered. Sakura nodded and put her attention to the brunette.

"Is she…" Sakura paused attempting not to cry. She may have not known Amber all that long but Amber was just one of those people who you loved the moment you met them. She was one of those people that were just so full of energy and so full of life.

"Chris will give us the news tomorrow. We're meeting up for the new song."

* * *

The suspense was life threatening. Out of everybody on her team, EVERY DAMN PERSON, Sakura was the last one left. And this wasn't because she was a legit laser tag player, frankly she sucked. She hadn't even shot once, she would just _run_. Which was Sakura's specialty. Her long legs made her fast and Sakura was the kind of girl who didn't mind getting down on dirty on the floor. She's evaded every shot pointed at her. She just had the problem of shooting back, even if she did have the perfect shot… This caused TK to lose his mind…as well as everyone else on the team.

"_DAMN IT SAKURA, QUIT HIDING AND GO GET THEM!"_ He yelled into his headset. Sakura rolled her eyes and crouched on the floor. She was near someone…multiple someones.

"Hey, you aren't in here against three guys alright?" she harshly whispered back. "These guys have played this game before. This is MY FIRST TIME! I can't kill them. I'm out of my league!"

"_Sakura, you'll do fine. You sick wicked on your feet! Run and shoot them. I'd be there to help you, but your damn boyfriend caught me in a blind spot."_

Sakura smiled at Tenten's little booster upper and got up to hide elsewhere. Staying in the same spot was NOT a good idea. For one, it's called camping. And that's highly frowned upon. And two, it makes you super paranoid. Your mind starts to play tricks on you and you'll end up losing the game.

Tenten and Mizuki were the best girls on the team. They've been playing laser tag for YEARS and had the skills of an ANBU member **(Author's Note: an ANBU member is equivalent to the USA's secret service agency, FBI, etc. All the same for other nations, ANBU = highest agency in the nation)**. If you _breathed_ near them, they'd know you're there and would take you out in 2 seconds. They were well known in Konoha. Seriously, who WOULDN'T know about the two best female laser tag players?

But Tenten and Mizuki's biggest matches in the laser tag world were Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji, and Sasuke. Aka: all the boys they hung out with.

Shikamaru was a damn genius. No matter who, what, when, or why he would easily be the smartest person in the room. And laser tag was his new shogi. He was the brains of the 's strategic methods were so well executed and perfect that they would put the USA's Secretary of Defense to shame.

Then there was Kiba, the man who held his first laser gun before he could walk. Kiba loved laser tag. It was one of his two passions and one of his three loves of his life. Kiba's level in the arena was scary. His ability to think quickly on his feet when a plan didn't work out well was what he was best at. And his hearing was so acute; it challenged the hearing of a bloodhound. AND to top it all off! The damn boy was so fast! He ran so freakin' quick! Sakura almost got caught by him and it was Hinata who saved her ass.

Kiba had run into Sakura while the pinkette was on the run. She was about to shoot when he was shot in the back by Hinata. But then Hinata was shot by Sasuke, who was ready to take Sakura out. But lucky, he couldn't run as fast as Sakura and someone else was on his tail.

Sakura hadn't seen much of Neji. She wasn't even sure if he was still in the game. All she knew was that Kiba and Naruto were out and all the girls were out. So the boys that were possibly left were: Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Neji.

Totally not good… all three boys had brains, and Neji had hell good eyes. Sakura guessed that it was hereditary, because Hinata had the same good eyes. It was like they had better than 20-20 vision.

And Sasuke, he was a freakin' _beast_. The bloody guy was good at everything! Honestly, Sakura is having a hard time trying to find something he _wasn't_ good at.

"_Sakura! Enemy at 6 o'clock! Wake up girl! Shoot or run!"_

Sakura took off sprinting to another hiding spot. She stopped suddenly, almost falling.

Crap, crap, crap!

She ran straight into Sasuke. She screamed and turned around. Neji was already there. She turned to run left, but Shikamaru was there as well. Sakura had nowhere else to run … she was trapped…

"NOW!" Shikamaru yelled. All three guys brought up their guns to shoot; Sakura closed her eyes waiting for the end. But everything happened in slow motion and something came over Sakura. She dropped to the floor and to her stomach. Her hands covering her head.

"_No…"_

"_Freakin'…"_

"_Way…"_

"…"

Everything was silent and Sakura looked up to Sasuke. He was in utter shock, as was everyone else in the ambush. He looked at his chest gear, it was blinking red. He was killed.

Sakura looked to the other guys, they were blinking red two; they were killed.

Sakura had won.

Sakura had won her first laser tag match.

Sakura had won her first laser tag match against a team of skilled players.

_And it was all a fluke_.

"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?"

The lights turned on and Sakura stood up. She was staring at her boyfriend, who was staring at her in utter shock.

"You…beat us…" he told her. Sakura laughed half-heartedly and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Yeah… I guess I did."

* * *

"WAY TO GO SAKURA!"

"YAY!"

All the girls cheered and surrounded Sakura as she exited the arena. They grouped in a big hug as all the boys stood in their own group. Conversing about _something_.

"Hey Sakura! Nice going!" Dave exclaimed as he, TK, Chris and Amber walked to them. Amber seemed rested and looked as if she was ready for some fun.

"Yeah no kidding!" TK added. "I thought you were dead! But then! When you ducked! It seemed like the matrix! I was tripping out!"

Sakura laughed. She hadn't expected to win. And she didn't even know why she ducked, but she just _did_.

"Okayyyyyy! Let's go get some grub!" Naruto yelled while punching his fist in the air.

* * *

**Sorry. I know it's late. But school got hectic. :/**

**I'm on vacation now (for three weeks).**

**Expect updates. :)**

**Love you guys!**


End file.
